Words by Esther Marr
\n<\/span>Photography by Natalie Morris<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfulfilled in her profession as a registered nurse, Amelia Papapetropoulos, who lives close to where billions of barrels of oil and gas are churned out yearly, began taking note of the booming oil and gas industry in her small hometown of Waynesburg, Pa. She got her foot in the door through an unconventional route: launching an on-site catering company at the oil and gas rigs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did both nursing and catering for about a year and it allowed me to keep the security of having a salary, while meeting people and exploring oil and gas,\u201d Amelia said. Eventually she was offered a full time sales position. \u201cWomen are filling more and more roles in this industry (currently around 19%),\u201d Amelia said. \u201cAlthough traditionally it\u2019s an old boys\u2019 club, that stereotype is definitely changing as more women work on-site.\u201d<\/p>\n

The closer one is working to the site, the stricter the requirements. And after too many years of donning men\u2019s baggy jumpsuits in order to meet protective wear requirements, Amelia\u2019s entrepreneurial nature finally kicked in. The petite, energetic brunette turned dream into reality a year and a half ago, founding her third home-based business, Fire Within: a fire-resistant clothing company for women working in oil and gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are required to wear certain clothing on location because it\u2019s dangerous; there could be combustion with the live drilling in the wells. The fire-resistant clothes the industry provides today by big-name brands indicate they\u2019re for women, but they\u2019re not,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re just a smaller version of the men\u2019s patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amelia took an idea for a more fitted pink fire-resistant coverall to the local art institute. They connected her with a few students, including Christina Knieriem. \u201cWe put our ideas on paper and turned them into an actual company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribe to CAKE&WHISKEY magazine or purchase the single issue\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to learn about Fire Within.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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