After a historic lawsuit brought by Brenda Berkman (lower left front row, in Engine 47 hat), 41 women joined the all-male Fire Department. Among them was Cathy Lohan (pink sweater on Berkman’s left), who died Tuesday at 68. (Obtained by the Daily News)
Catherine Lohan, one of the women who smashed the FDNY’s gender barrier nearly 40 years ago to become a New York City firefighter, died on Tuesday. She was 68.
Lohan was 32 when she graduated from the FDNY’s rigorous Fire Academy in 1982 — one of 41 women who joined the department after a historic federal gender discrimination lawsuit.
She died in her Ridgefield, Conn., home, her family said.
“All the women firefighters from the original group that came on in 1982 are saddened by Cathy’s passing,” said retired FDNY Captain Brenda Berkman, who launched the legal battle to open the FDNY’s all-male ranks to women. “We formed a close bond in the academy and over the many years we served together and it’s always sad when a pioneer leaves us.”
Pray for the Repose of the Soul of our Noble and accomplished, American Pioneer!