SAN ANTONIO — Firefighter Karen Paniagua has been fighting fires at station 36 for the past twelve years.
"I always knew I wanted to be a civil servant. I wanted to give back to my neighbors and community," Karen Paniagua said.
When the tones go out, you can find Karen running the ladder truck
"It's basically a big rolling toolbox. It's pretty cool," Paniagua said.
You may have noticed Karen is the only female on her team.
"It is very reassuring. I'd like to think I earned my spot," Paniagua said. "It's very empowering to me to know that I did exactly with the guy next to me does."
Her team can attest to that.
"She's just like any other fireman. She fits right in. There's no special treatment given and none expected," SAFD Ladder 36, Capt. Richard Lewis said.
Out of the 1,900 firefighters with the San Antonio Fire Department, Karen is one of 91 women who run towards danger.
"I think it's just one of those gender stereotypes that when you think of firefighter or you think of police officer you think male. And there are actually a lot of females in this industry," Paniagua said.
Being in the minority, Karen faced a different battle to earn her badge.
"When I started the academy I was the only female in a class of 28, so it was very difficult for me because the guys didn't face the same obstacles as I did," Paniagua said.
She, like the other women in the department, overcame, learning how to tackle the same feats, just doing it in a different way.
"It can be done and that's what we want girls to know," Paniagua said.
Karen says one of the biggest concerns she hears from young women is how to find a balance between work and home.
As she cooks for her "work family," this single mom of two also cooks for her two daughters.
"As a woman and as a firefighter I wear multiple hats," Paniagua said. "It's the same outside of work too. I'm a mother, I'm a daughter, I'm a sister. And the same skills you use at home you bring them over to your work life. It's the amazing thing about being a woman."
Breaking barriers and inspiring her own daughters.
All while sending a message to other young women.
"You can do both of them, you definitely can do both,"Paniagua said. "I think women are starting to realize their own power. if they are driven and they are determined and they work hard enough."