Dominic Massa / Eyewitness News
Email: dmassa@wwltv.com | Twitter: @DMassaWWL
Kathy Wilkerson, the city of New Orleans’ first female firefighter, died Saturday of complications from cancer, the fire department announced. She was 57.
A statement from the New Orleans Fire Department said Wilkerson died in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Wilkerson entered the fire department ranks in 1992 becoming the first female firefighter in the city’s history.
“She broke the barrier for females coming into the fire service in New Orleans,” said the department in its statement Saturday.