Credit: Wissahickon Fire Company.
The Wissahickon Fire Company honored one of its own after the passing of Chief Linda Long, who joined the Wissahickon Fire Company in 1984 and became the first female firefighter to join its active firefighting force.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Philadelphia Retired Battalion Chief Linda Long,” Wissahickon Fire Company wrote. “Chief Long would frequently return to visit during the annual active engine room Christmas Party. Chief Long was a person who would visit and engage in conversations with senior members about past experiences and share insights with younger members on her journey through the fire service, both during her tenure at Wissahickon and Philadelphia.”
Doctors discovered in 2021 that Long had a brain tumor and was eventually diagnosed with glioblastoma. She was forced to retire in 2023.
"We extend our sincerest appreciation for her years of devoted service to the Philadelphia Fire Department and Wissahickon Fire Company,” Wissahickon Fire Company added. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this challenging time.”
Chief Long ascended through the ranks in the Philadelphia Fire Department and became the first female Battalion Chief in PFD history.
Local Roots
When Long turned 18, she tried to join Fort Washington Volunteer Fire Company, but was ultimately rejected. She was told that firehouses didn’t allow women in, but ambulance companies did.
“They didn’t have any women at the firehouse, and they really didn’t want any women,” Long told Honor365 at the time of an interview. “They voted to not let me join. When I asked friends my age if the firehouse let women in, they said, ‘No, we don’t let women in, but the ambulance company does.’”
When news of the fire company’s rejection became public, the Community Ambulance Association of Ambler offered to train her as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Later, they paid for her to become a paramedic.
After that, the Wissahickon Volunteer Fire Company reached out to Long and invited her to become its first female firefighter. Determined to achieve her dream of becoming a Philadelphia firefighter, she applied for a job with the Philadelphia Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services division as a paramedic and planned to eventually become a firefighter.
