The city of Minneapolis is looking toward the success other cities have experienced in recruiting more women recently to become members of their respective fire departments.

The Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), historically, has set the standard for female recruitment. In recent years, however, those recruiting numbers have fallen.

Christine Nixon, vice president of the Minneapolis Women’s Firefighters Association, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that ever since the first woman MFD was hired in 1986, the city led the way in hiring female firefighters.

“In the late 90s and into early two-thousands, Minneapolis was the world leader with maybe 17%,” said Nixon.

Nixon told KSTP that those numbers have dropped significantly.

“From 2002 till 2022, 11 classes out of 17 did not have women. And, only 10 women have been hired in the last 20 years,” said Nixon.

The city is now studying what has worked in other cities recently to creatively find ways to recruit more women into MFD in the future.