Jan Mendoza

Fire Girl: the Story of One of the First Female Cdf Fire Fighters (Volume 1) Jan Mendoza

Jan Mendoza was one of the first few female fire fighters to work for the California Department of Forestry. The year was 1978 and a girl had never stepped foot to work at her assigned duty station in its 50 year history. It was definitely a man's world and some weren't happy when an 18 year old girl that stood 5'2" and weighed 95 pounds showed up for duty. She not only surprised herself of her abilities and stamina, she also surprised her male counterparts. From the mundane everyday station work to battling raging forest fires with near death experiences, Jan tells her story with humor and honesty of being the only girl at a mountain fire station. All proceeds of Fire Girl will go to the Wildland Fire Fighter Foundation.