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Luzerne County workers buy toys for children removed from home on Christmas Eve

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Eagles’ magic finally runs out: Philly falls to Saints after turnover on final drive

<p>The first sentence of a recent story by staff writer Bill O&#8217;Boyle stopped us dead in our tracks a few days ago.</p><p>And not because Bill finally succeeded in slipping that Mister Rogers&#8217; pun he was so fond of past an editor.</p><p>&#8220;Prior to 2018, Luzerne County had few full-time female firefighters in its history,&#8221; O&#8217;Boyle wrote.</p><p>So few in fact, most people we talked to believed there were none.</p><p>That&#8217;s prior to 2018, not 1918.</p><p>Hard to believe, isn&#8217;t it.</p><p>Fortunately, a good-intentioned reader reminded us that a full-time female firefighter worked in Nanticoke back in the &#8216;80s. But still the ranks of our fire departments have been overwhelming male for decades.</p><p>Finally, however, that is beginning to change. Thanks to Plymouth Borough and the Kingston-Forty Fort Fire Department, Luzerne County now boasts two full-time female firefighters.</p><p>Lori Bolesta and A&#8217;Leia Stull were hired last year by Plymouth Borough and Kingston-Forty Fort, respectively.</p><p>It&#8217;s about time.</p><p>Bolesta, 34, is certified as a structural firefighter, Pennsylvania State EMT and a vehicle and special vehicle rescue technician. She has served as member of Plymouth Fire Company No. 1 and Ambulance for more than 20 years.</p><p>Stull, 29, is a firefighter and a paramedic.</p><p>According to O&#8217;Boyle, Bolesta said she was 14 years old when she first started hanging around Plymouth&#8217;s Fire Co. No. 1 on Gaylord Avenue.</p><p>&#8220;Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a fireman,&#8221; Bolesta told Bill. &#8220;When I was small, my father was always there and he would take me to the fire house to help out.&#8221;</p><p>Stull, according to O&#8217;Boyle, has a long history of being involved in firefighting too.</p><p>She has been volunteering at fire companies since 2006.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the servitude that gets me,&#8221; said Stull, whose husband is also a career firefighter. &#8220;Every day you have a chance to get out there and help people &#8212; to make a difference in people&#8217;s lives &#8212; regardless of the severity of the situation.&#8221;</p><p>And rest assured, these were no affirmative action hires.</p><p>Both Bolesta and Stull were, according to their fire chiefs and municipal officials, the most qualified candidates for their respective positions, according to O&#8217;Boyle&#8217;s story.</p><p>&#8220;It was a very competitive Civil Service Commission process,&#8221; Kingston-Forty Fort Fire Chief Frank Guido said of Stull. &#8220;She was top in physical agility and in the written exam. She was by far the best candidate. &#8220;</p><p>It was the same for Bolesta.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an extensive process,&#8221; she said. &#8220;All of my training over the years had everything to do with my getting this job.&#8221;</p><p>We&#8217;re just happy Bolesta and Stull are on the job and ready to go when duty calls.</p><p>We&#8217;re also thrilled that any young woman in the Wyoming Valley with dreams of becoming a firefighter now knows that it&#8217;s not an impossible dream.</p><p>Let us just join in what surely has been long list of people offering congratulations to Bolesta and Stull, and to the two departments that hired them, helping push Luzerne County a little further into the 21st Century.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><em>&#8211; Times Leader </em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A'Leia Stull is a female firefighter and paramedic in Kingston. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL011119Stull2-cmyk.jpg</photo0><caption0>A'Leia Stull is a female firefighter and paramedic in Kingston. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL011119Bolesta1-CMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lori Bolesta is the first female firefighter to be employed full time, she has held the position since June of 2018. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL011119Bolesta1-CMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>Lori Bolesta is the first female firefighter to be employed full time, she has held the position since June of 2018. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>

Our view: Congratulations to county’s new firefighters