DETROIT (WXYZ) — The Detroit Public Safety Foundation honored 24 women from the Detroit Police and Fire departments Wednesday at its Women in Blue event, recognizing first responders nominated by their peers for the impact they make daily.
Four women were nominated from Detroit Fire and 20 from Detroit Police.
After 9 years as an officer, Alexis Campbell received the Detroit Police Women in Blue Officer of the Year honor.
"My biggest challenge has been balancing and being a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter but the sacrifices that my children make so I can serve the other children in the community is just so worth it," Campbell said.
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison spoke to the significance of women in the department.
"24% of the Detroit police department is female and so the men cannot do it without the women and we have some brave women. It's not just police but fire and EMS and police," Bettison said.
Taylor Butts, a Detroit firefighter, reflected on what the recognition meant.
"I thought it was awesome. It highlighted so many women in the department because we do feel unseen sometimes," Butts said.
During her acceptance speech, the winner of Detroit Fire Department Woman of the Year used the moment to highlight struggles she says firefighters face when the job results in health issues.
"Right now, one of our own is battling aggressive brain and kidney after years on the job. Instead of simply being taken care of, he's forced to fight over whether the cancer is duty related," the firefighter said. "This ceremony is beautiful. It's great to have all these people to celebrate only when we do not have to fight our own employer for the things the law guarantees as we faithfully serve."
According to the National Institute of Health, occupational cancer is now the leading cause of death among firefighters, with firefighters having a 9% greater risk of a cancer diagnosis and 14% higher rate of cancer-related death than the general public.
Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms addressed the department's stance on cancer claims.
"We support every firefighter on this job and matter fact, we made it a demand that any firefighter that has been on this job that is diagnosed with cancer, it will automatically be considered an on-duty injury," Simms said.
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