(Image Credit: Daily News)

Women firefighters are still a rare sight, especially in the steamy pages of the annual FDNY Calendar of Heroes. When 11-year FDNY veteran Denae Mines decided to attend a casting for the 2015 calendar, she was initially warned that the calendar was a boy’s club. She was also told that even if she was selected, she’d be made to look like a “pin-up girl”. Not only did Mines manage to secure one of the 13 coveted spots as “Miss March”, she even had her photo taken on her own terms. As one of only 41 female firefighters in the FDNY, Denae Mines is used to breaking down barriers.

According to the Daily News,

Her dreams of becoming a firefighter began when she was just 10 years old after one of the city’s Bravest visited her school to talk about the job.

But her family told her that she should consider another career, because only men joined the FDNY.

“I had absolutely no support from my family when I wanted to come on the job,” she said.

Mines became an EMT and, despite her family’s requests, accepted a promotion to become a firefighter in 2003. And she hasn’t been able to stop her relatives from gloating about her ever since.

“Once I graduated (from the Fire Academy), it was the complete opposite,” she said. “They could not stop bragging.”

Congratulations Denae!