Danae Mines, one of New York City's only African-American female firefighters, ignored the voices of her naysayers to become the first woman to be featured in the 2015 FDNY Calender of Heroes. 
“I was told that it was all guys,” Mines, the 11-year-veteran who is assigned to Engine Co. 60 in the South Bronx, told the Daily News. 
Mines was told by others that she would have to pose as a pin-up girl in order to make the calendar. But in the final product, Mines is shown wearing a gray FDNY tank top and red suspenders. Men usually pose shirtless in the annual calender.

During the auditions she felt like a fish out of water. “I was a little scared,” said Mines. “I was the only female.”
This is not the only odds that Mines has beat in her lifetime. She dreamed of being a firefighter since she was 10, but her family told her that she should go into a profession traditionally pursued by women. But Mines still wanted to do things her way. 

At first Mines worked as an EMT and when the opportunity came to be promoted as a firefighter she went with it in 2003. After her graduation, her family began boasting about her accomplishments. 
 “Once I graduated (from the Fire Academy), it was the complete opposite,” she said. “They could not stop bragging.” Mines hopes her placement in the calender will inspire other women and girls that they can be whatever they want to be. 

“I wanted my picture in the calendar so that young girls and young women can see me and know that they can do this job,” she said.
The calendar costs $17.95 and proceeds will go to the FDNY Foundation. Click here to purchase.
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(Photo: Official FDNY Calendar)