Battalion Chief

Bio

Watch Veronie Steele-Small, the first female African-American Battalion Chief at the Los Angeles County Fire Department, share how she originally became intrigued with becoming a firefighter after learning it could be a good fit with her acting and modeling career since it only would require her to work 10 days a month. To learn more, she stopped off at the nearest fire station after a photo shoot (in full make-up) to talk to the captain. He discouraged her because he thought she looked like the type who would not want to get her fingernails broken. Instead of giving up, she used this as motivation, went to another station and the rest is history. Her advice to girls is to never be afraid to try any career you are interested in and don't listen to anyone who might try to discourage you.