THE THIRD ANNUAL GIRLS FIRE CAMP INTRODUCED TEEN GIRLS, MANY OF WHOM ARE BLACK, TO THE FIREFIGHTING PROFESSION. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
Who can forget Horne’s department store, snuggled perfectly at the corner of Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street, Downtown Pittsburgh?
Tons of Pittsburghers can say they worked there over the decades before it closed in 1994. One of those people who worked there was Lisa Epps-Cuda, known as Lisa Epps at the time. She was a hard worker. She was determined. She was…prissy?
That’s right. Someone told her that because Epps, the Allderdice High School graduate and, at the time, University of Pittsburgh student, worked at Horne’s, she was “too prissy” to be a firefighter, with “all that heavy gear” and so forth.
“So I thought, ‘you know what, let me prove that person wrong because I love a good challenge,’” Epps-Cuda told the New Pittsburgh Courier exclusively, Sept. 27.
Decades later, she’s one of the most respected, highly-regarded firefighters in the City of Pittsburgh.
“I ended up loving it,” Epps-Cuda said. Epps-Cuda left Pitt to become a firefighter for Pittsburgh full-time, and today, after decades of being out in the field, she’s the fire prevention instructor for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.
And the year 2024 also marks the third year of the Girls Fire Camp, which she started to introduce more girls to the firefighting profession. After all, out of 745 firefighters in the city, four are women—and Epps-Cuda is the only Black woman on the team.
“Most females think they can’t do it because they’re a woman,” Epps-Cuda told the Courier. “So this camp exposed them to the physical part of being a firefighter as well as the mental challenges you’re going to have.”
The 27 girls who were part of this year’s camp, which occurred from Aug. 12-17, learned CPR, became Stop The Bleed certified, visited the Pittsburgh Fire Training Academy and were on a fire boat. They learned best practices on fitness and nutrition and the importance of teamwork.
In an era where most teens are stuck looking at their phones and complaining about not having enough to do, the Girls Fire Camp provided plenty of things to do and things to learn, Epps-Cuda said.
Across the U.S., 8.4 percent of the career firefighters are African American, according to the National Fire Protection Association. It’s unclear how many Black female career firefighters there are across the nation. What is clear is that Toni McIntosh was the first Black woman to become a career firefighter in 1976, and she did it right in Pittsburgh. McIntosh was someone Epps-Cuda admired.
On Aug. 17, there was a graduation ceremony for the teens, aged 14-18.
“I’ve been the only woman of color, so it’s important for me to pay it forward and help females get on the job,” Epps-Cuda told the Courier.
In the three years of the Girls Fire Camp, roughly 20 Black girls have been exposed to this profession, one that can be exciting, fulfilling, but also dangerous and intense. Epps-Cuda intends for the camp to continue next year.
But for now, Epps-Cuda, as you’re reading this article, is busy educating people on how to prevent a fire from even happening in the first place.
“If I could prevent someone from actually dying in a fire,” Epps-Cuda told the Courier, “then I’m doing my job right.”
THE THIRD ANNUAL GIRLS FIRE CAMP! (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
ALL THE VOLUNTEERS, WITH GIRLS FIRE CAMP FOUNDER LISA EPPS-CUDA
LISA EPPS-CUDA, PITTSBURGH FIRE CHIEF DARRYL JONES
ALL THE GIRLS LEARNED HOW TO USE THE FIRE HOSE…
THE GIRLS LEARNED HOW TO USE THE FIRE HYDRANT…
ALL THE GIRLS WERE ON THE FIRE BOAT, NAMED THE “SOPHIE MASLOFF.” MASLOFF WAS A FORMER MAYOR OF PITTSBURGH.
SOME OF THE GIRLS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRE CAMP…
CHIEF DARRYL JONES SPEAKING TO THE CROWD AS THE CADETS LOOK ON…
CHIEF JONES, CADET NINA TAYLOR AND LISA EPPS-CUDA (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
