San Diego, where I reside, has endured several terrible fires in October. This year we have been lucky and the fires of the summer and last spring much smaller than they could have been. 

Each October, I think of my friend's wife who was lost when flames jumped the road and engulfed her car. I think of my cousin's home, the family quits, the baby photos all gone when the wind blew embers and then a wall of fire through the neighborhood.  I think of the firefighters I know working long dangerous shifts away from their families for too many days. 

Here is a list for the women firefighter out there in the stations and on the line. Thank you. 

1. All Summer Long  by Susan Mallery

Former underwear model turned entrepreneur Clay Stryker has loved, tragically lost and vowed that he'll never risk his heart again. After making his fortune, the youngest of the rugged Stryker brothers returns to Fool's Gold, California, to put down roots on a ranch of his own. But he's frustrated to discover that even in his hometown, people see him only for his world-famous…assets.

Firefighter Chantal (Charlie) Dixon grew up an ugly duckling beside her delicately beautiful mother, a feeling reinforced long ago by a man who left soul-deep scars. Now she has good friends, a solid job and the itch to start a family—yet she can't move toward the future while she's haunted by painful memories.

Clay finds an unexpected ally, and unexpected temptation, in tomboyish Charlie, the only person who sees beyond his dazzling good looks to the real man beneath. But when Charlie comes to him with an indecent proposal, will they be able to overcome their pasts and find a love that lasts beyond one incredible summer?

2. Hidden Crimes by Emma Holly

Cats and dogs shouldn't fall in love. Like any wolf, RPD detective Nate Rivera knows this. He can’t help it if the tigress he’s been trading quips with at the supermarket is the most alluring woman he’s ever met—sassy too, which suits him down to his designer boots. 

Evina Mohajit is aware their flirtation can’t lead to more. Still, she relishes trading banter with the hot werewolf. This hardworking single mom hasn’t felt so female since her twins’ baby daddy left to start his new family. Plus, as a station chief in Resurrection’s Fire Department, she understands the demands of a dangerous job. 

Their will-they-or-won’t-they tango could go on forever if it weren’t for the mortal peril the city’s shifter children fall into. To save them, Nate and Evina must team up, a choice that ignites the sparks smoldering between them . . .

3. Sex and the Single Fireman by Jennifer Bernard 

The toughest captain on the East Coast, single father Rick Roman has come thousands of miles to San Gabriel to put an end to the "Bachelor Firemen" media hype. But when a stunning woman he nearly hooked up with in Reno turns out to be a firefighter from his new station, Roman realizes it's going to be tough keeping the tabloids at bay.

But there's even more Sabina isn't telling him. Before dedicating herself to battling blazes, Sabina led a very different life, one that made her famous. The last thing she wants is to have her secret exposed. The papers, bloggers, and TV gossips will have a field day with that—expecially when they sense the obvious sexual heat between Sabina and Chief Roman, who's torn between firing her . . . and falling in love with her!

4. Ride the Fire  by Jo Davis 

After he lost his wife and children to a tragic accident, Captain Sean Tanner drowned his pain with alcohol. Now, fresh from rehab, he wants to regain the trust of his team and begin again. The last thing he needs is to have feelings for beautiful firefighter Eve Marshall. But even as they dare to explore their growing desire, Sean learns that his family may have been murdered. And that a shadow from his past has returned to finish off Sean--and anyone he loves...

5. Burns So Bad by Anne Marsh 

ONE JUMP PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE… 
Summer is heating up in Strong, California. The jump team’s bad boy, Rio Donovan is one hundred percent pure, sensual trouble. He never backs down from a fire or a dare and he loves putting it all on the line when he parachutes into the heart of the fire. When the fire camp gets a much-needed new player, however, Rio lands in uncharted territory. The jump team’s newest member is sexy, strong—and female. She’s supposed to be just one of the boys, but Rio burns to claim her one heated kiss at a time. This jump, Rio Donovan’s putting it all on the line. Body and heart. 

INTO THE FIRE… AND INTO LOVE 
Kissing a fellow smoke jumper would be career suicide and Gia Jackson has worked too hard and too long to earn her spot on Strong’s jump team to jeopardize it all now for a man. The love-em-and-leave-em boys of summer aren’t her type and she’s hiding a few secrets of her own, but, when her chute tangles with Rio’s on a jump, he’s thrown into her arms. Literally. She’s held firm on the fireline for years—but can she hold the line now against Rio’s seductive charm? 

6. Flirting with Danger: A Firefighters of Adelaide Novel by Claire Baxter 

Firefighter Jasmine Mackinnon has always just been one of the guys. So no one’s more shocked than she is to find herself kissing fellow firefighter and all-around sinfully handsome playboy Aaron Parkes after a friend’s wedding. Jasmine knows she can’t risk an emotional connection with a colleague—a potentially dangerous entanglement when fighting fires together—and nothing's more important to her than her job.

Aaron never noticed how beautiful Jasmine was until he saw her out of her firefighter duds, but there’s something about the fiery woman that tempts him. Though he knows pursuing a real relationship is out of the question for a serial dater like him, when their casual flirtation builds into something more serious, it's not just their jobs or their safety on the line. It's their hearts.

7. Sparks by Sharon Horton 

All her life, Callie O'Rourke wanted to be a firefighter. A lifelong nightmare of being in a fire has driven her to pursue a career to fight fires and save lives. She won't let being a woman stop her from achieving that goal. When her determination and training land her a job, Callie has no idea being the city's first female firefighter will gain the attention of more than just its citizens.

Although haunted since childhood by the fiery death of his father, firefighting is in Danny Redmond's blood. He comes from a long line of firemen, all the way back to his great-grandfather. 

Callie's refreshing candor ignites Danny's interest. With her ability to fight fires, combined with the way she puts him at ease, it's not long before they become friends. Focused on being the best firefighters possible, neither is looking for romance. Yet the more they're together, the more they realize firefighting may not be their biggest challenge.

8. After The Fire (Hidden Cove Series Book 1) by Kathryn Shay 

Three firefighters from the Malvaso family are trapped in a burning building and almost lose their lives. After they are rescued, they decide to change the way they’ve been living. Mitch, the eldest, wants to make some decisions about his dysfunctional marriage and spend more time with his kids. Jenn decides to have a baby—with her best friend, Grady. And Zach, the bad boy of the group, vows to make up for his past sins and become a better man. 

9. So This Is Love (Callaways #2) by Barbara Freethy 

For Max Harrison, love seduces and then destroys. His brother went to prison for love. His father left his family for love. And Max is determined not to follow in their footsteps, until he meets Emma… 

Emma runs into burning buildings without an ounce of fear and embraces life as if every day is a new adventure. But while she's fearless on the job, Emma is a coward when it comes to love. Betrayed by an ex-boyfriend, Emma has no intention of putting her heart on the line again, until she meets Max… 

As the fires around the city rage, the heat between them ignites in a blaze of passion that's far more dangerous. Will it destroy them or will they finally get everything they ever wanted… 

10. Fully Engaged by Eve Gaddy 

Their passion is one fire they can’t put out.

Nine years ago, he left her alone and pregnant. Now he’s back.

When hotshot firefighter Callie Kilpatrick gets a new partner, he’s the last man she ever wanted to meet again: Rick Montana, the man she once loved and planned to marry, the man who left her without explanation. Rick resurrects all the old, unresolved feelings she had for him. Though she never told him about her pregnancy, she blames him for the loss of their child. 

As for Rick, he's never forgotten Callie. But as her anger singes him, he wonders if he’ll ever be able to get past the walls she’s built around her heart. When they must work together to discover a murderer, they discover that passion still burns hot between them.

Do you have any favorite Firefighter Heroines? Let me know!

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Firefighter Romance Heroines.