Howland woman passes YPD agility test, first since '04

YOUNGSTOWN

After all the training and planning, Erin Gilmour says it was a shout from her mother that pushed her the most to become the first woman in 13 years to pass the city fire department’s physical agility test.

She was faltering as she was going through some of the firefighter tasks at Chaney High School when her mother’s voice pierced through the air and spurred her on to finish.

“When my mom yelled, it got me back to my game plan,” Gilmour said.

Gilmour, a cross-fit coach and former criminal justice major at Youngstown State University who graduated from Howland High School, is the second woman to pass the test since it was upgraded in 2000 to make it harder.

Only one other woman, Lt. Courtney Kelly, passed the current incarnation of the test, and that was in 2004. Kelly is one of five female firefighters in the department. The other four were hired before the new test was in effect.

Read more about the test and the new firefighter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.