Yonkers firefighter is trailblazer for Black women

Yonkers firefighter is a trailblazer

Firefighter Fatima Taylor has made history. She is the first Black woman to become a firefighter in the Yonkers Fire Department.

YONKERS, N.Y. - As a young girl, Fatima Taylor knew she wanted to be one of the city's bravest and follow in the footsteps of her father and her brothers to become a Yonkers firefighter.

Taylor worked several jobs, trained in martial arts, and eventually became a Yonkers police officer in 2020.

But she said something was still missing. Then she got the call to take the test to become a firefighter in New York's third-largest city.

Taylor passed.

She was sworn in last year, becoming the second woman in the department and the first Black woman in its history.

Taylor is assigned to Engine Company 310 at Yonkers Fire Station 10.