A fire station tour was all it took for 6-year-old Annie Wallen to know she what she wanted to be when she grew up; a firefighter.

Not only did Wallen achieve her dream, but she is the first female firefighter in the history of the Jackson City Fire Department.

“My mom tells me to be proud of it, but there have been a lot of females that have come before me and paved a path for me to be where I’m at” said Wallen.

Wallen grew up in Jackson, Mich., where she watched her heroes at the Jackson City Fire Department put out fires ever since she was a kid.

In 8th grade, Wallen joined the Career Center in Jackson, Mich., and chose the fire department to job shadow throughout high school.

 A year after high school, Wallen completed the fire academy, and then decided to join the United States Marine Corps.

In January 2019, the Jackson City Fire Department was able to hire Wallen when they received money from a federal grant called the Safer Grant.

However, the money was expected to run out in September 2019, and Wallen, along with five other Jackson City Firefighters, would be laid off as a result.

Wallen works 24-hour shifts, four days a week.

Wallen isn’t sure what’s next for her after getting laid off at the end of September and has thought about doing things like going back to nursing school or joining WWE wrestling.

For other women who have dreams of becoming a firefighter, Wallen says that anything is possible.

“Anything really is possible. it might take ‘x’ amount of years, but here I am 20 years later living my dream" said Walle. "Sometimes you have to go through the road blocks, sometimes you have to go around them, and sometimes you have to go right through them, but you’ve gotta find a way and keep pushing”