Training Programs Spark Diversity - Tampa Fire Rescue

December 15, 2006 Florida - She's about a half-foot shorter and a few years older than fellow trainees in the fire academy, but Kim Edmonds is determined to shine. "I gotta work extra, extra hard," Edmonds, 32, of St. Petersburg, said Wednesday. A single mother of a 16-year-old son, Edmonds aspired to become a firefighter and paramedic in 1992 but couldn't handle the time commitment. Then a scholarship to boost Tampa Fire Rescue's diversity -- and a similar program at Hillsborough County Fire Rescue ...