"My first day, I was so nervous," Juanita Silva tells Start TV. "My heart was beating out of my chest, and it was exciting, it was nerve-wracking." After working her way up the ranks, Silva is now the only female fire marshal in her fire department. Find out how she got her start in the video above.

Silva works in fire investigations, working to find the cause of a blaze. She says that being a go-getter is a crucial part to her job, "you can't sit around and wait to be asked to do anything". The parting knowledge Silva left with Start TV was, "If you're that little girl out there thinking that one day you might want to be a firefighter, you can. Look at me."

Watch the video below for Silva's powerful message to young girls who aspire to become firefighters:

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