"The group has backing from several legal-advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and women's legal-aid society Legal Momentum. Michelle Caiola, a senior staff attorney at the latter, calls the FDNY's percentage of female firefighters "abysmal."

'Women never make up the majority of firefighters, but if you look at other major cities, especially those that have made an effort, the numbers are much higher,' Caiola says. 'Our numbers are so low.'"