Veteran Chopper Pilot And First Woman Hired At OCFA Claims Gender Discrimination For Dismissal

By CBSLA Staff, CBS Los Angeles:

IRVINE (CBSLA) – A protest was held outside the Orange County Fire Authority’s headquarters Thursday in support of a veteran woman chopper pilot, the agency’s first, who was terminated during her probationary period.

“She is the best fire pilot I ever flew with,” retired firefighter Boschko Ikovic, who last flew with Desiree Horton in a Bell 205 helicopter above the Colby Fire, said. “We depended on her with the water underneath the helicopter, whether it was a Bambi bucket or a belly tank, and when we flew on our missions, I was cutting the fire line and Desiree never missed.”

For 30 years, Horton has been a trailblazer in the sky, including a 10-year stretch with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the first woman to ever fly for CAL FIRE, and now she’s claiming gender discrimination.

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