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Ridgewood Marine Is Bergen County's First Female Career Firefighter

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. — Shelby Taylor of Ridgewood will be sworn in as Bergen County's first female career firefighter on Wednesday.

U.S. Marine Shelby Taylor, 25, is Bergen County's first female career firefighter.

U.S. Marine Shelby Taylor, 25, is Bergen County's first female career firefighter.

Photo Credit: Shelby Taylor

Taylor, 25, graduated from RHS in 2011. A month later, she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

The Sergeant worked as an aviation ordnance technician from 2011 to 2015, and was deployed in Spain and Italy from 2013 to 2014.

Her first day on the job in Ridgewood was in January, but the department waited for her to finish the fire academy before swearing her in, Taylor explained.

She says she doesn't know when the idea of being a firefighter came to play — just that she wanted to work in a field where she could help people.

"The job has the potential to be dangerous but it's also rewarding," Taylor said. "It can be unpredictable but I like trying to make people's worst days better."

Ridgewood is among the four paid fire departments in Bergen County, the others being Englewood, Hackensack and Teaneck.

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