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MAKING HISTORY: Firefighter Danae Mines is the first female to feature in the New York Fire Department's annual Calendar of Heroes

FOR THE first time in history, a female firefighter has appeared in the New York Fire Department's annual charity calendar, Calendar of Heroes.

Danae Mines, an 11-year veteran of Engine Co. 6 in South Bronx, is one of only 41 female firefighters in the 11,080-strong force and was initially told that only men could star in the calendar.

“I was told that it was all guys,” Mines told the New York Daily News, adding: “I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. I was determined.”

Mines beat out more than 100 men at the nerve-wracking open call after she saw a flyer on the wall of her firehouse and decided to audition, against the advice of her peers.

“They said if I made it in the calendar, I would look like a pinup girl," she said.

But unlike the male participants, who usually strip down to reveal their muscular bodies, Mines chose to keep her uniform on for the shoot.

According to the Mail Online, joining the FDNY has been a dream since she was just 10 years old, but Mines admitted that her family offered her “absolutely no support” when she first shared her intentions.

Mines said: “When I step foot into the firehouse, I have to be able to tell myself that I’m willing to risk my life to save someone else.”

The firefighter hopes that her appearance in the calendar will inspire other women to join the force as well, and to challenge the job's gender stereotypes.

“I wanted my picture in the calendar so that young girls and young women can see me and know that they can do this job,” she said.