By Araceli Arroyo –

Her voice is strong yet calm, and it almost doesn’t match her small but resilient stature. Her hair is brown and gently frames her face; she is fiercely feminine. Despite her physical attributes, nothing was scaled down for 5-foot-1-inch Miriam Rodriguez when she trained to become a firefighter.

She ran up the same number of flights of stairs as the men wearing the same 50-pound equipment, carrying the same heavy hose full of water, and with just as many instructors yelling at the top of their lungs while she did it. Out of her graduating class she was the only woman.

Six years ago, Rodriguez, 40, joined the Chicago Fire Department‘s 319 female firefighters out of a force of more than 4,000 men. Latinos only make up 10% of the Chicago Fire department. The Chicago Fire Department has a long history of discrimination not only in terms of race but also in gender. Rodriguez is a minority on top of another minority, but despite this she carries on everyday the same duty and responsibility as her fellow firemen along with a story of determination and will.

“This is a very male dominated job and some people probably thought I wasn’t going to make it but I did,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez grew up on the West Side of Chicago the youngest of six children. Her childhood was not picture perfect. Her mother left when she was 14 years old and her father was an abusive alcoholic. She escaped the dysfunction of family life during her after school hours at the local Boys and Girls Club. There she played every sport from hockey to swimming.

She was a teenage mom at 17 and was determined to finish high school. She attended summer school so she could graduate with her senior class. After high school she studied to become a  licensed practical nurse at the Norwegian American Hospital in Chicago and then became pregnant with another baby.

“ Going to school was hard, and then you’re coming home late. I really had no life,” Rodriguez said.

After 10 years of marriage, she found herself  a single mother of three daughters: Edith, Jasmine, and Crystal.

“ If anyone took care of those girls, she brought up those girls by herself,” says long time friend Beatrice Mojica. “She did it on her own, she was both mother and father.”

She was 34 years old and working as a loan officer when she was selected by the Chicago Fire Department inviting her to train at the Academy. She stepped up to the challenge because she wanted to provide a better life for her children.

“It was horrible. Every day I wanted to quit,” Rodriguez admitted but she fought on through the hardships. Even through a bout of sciatica with no medical treatment Rodriguez persevered.

Although she jokes watching the movie G.I. Jane repeatedly provided her the motivation to continue, her new found faith in God really kept her going.

“ I was the only woman and really whose shoulder could you cry on? I was used to going to church at least two times a year but I needed more,” Rodriguez said.

She then joined the Christian Midwest Bible Church where she attended as much as she could.

“ I realized my faith was being tested,” Rodriguez added.

Mojica remembers visiting Rodriguez and her dining room table fit for six was covered in books.

“ She was totally exhausted, studying and parenting, and the whole physical aspect, but I always told her you’re not gonna give up!” Mojica said.

Walking across the stage on graduation day from the academy was one of the proudest moments of Miriam Rodriguez’s life.

“ I was so proud of myself, I couldn’t believe I got through it,” recalled Rodriguez with a smile on her face.

A year after graduating from the academy, Rodriguez’s second daughter, Jasmine, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It was very difficult for her not to be at the hospital every day with her daughter. Again her faith provided her the strength to care for her daughter as well as continue working as a firefighter.

“ There’s always that added pressure because I’m a woman. A male can make a mistake but if a female makes a mistake she’ll never live it down,” Rodriguez said.

Sometimes she feels as if she plays into those stress factors. The job gets physically demanding and during the winter she questions whether or not she can open the hydrant because it’s frozen or because she’s weak.

Rodriguez works under Captain Gary Kuykendall of Engine 79 and he testified to the fact she knows her job.

“The bottom line is does the individual know and understand his/her responsibilities and are they competent in the performance of their duties? And Miriam certainly is,” Captain Kuykendall said.

Rodriguez understands responsibility and duty.

“I don’t know how she does it,” said Mojica of her friend. ” She keeps a garden, she rides a motorcycle, what doesn’t she do?”