The aim of this study is to investigate what women do in disaster situations and how both men and women perceive and discuss the work of women. These patterns were evidenced in the stories that were told following the fire. The study is based on 31 retrospective interviews with volunteers involved in a large Swedish forest fire and focuses on stories about the supportive work of women during this fire. The results indicate that women were praised when they followed the traditional norms but were denigrated when they performed what was perceived as male-coded tasks. The stories reveal norms about what a woman is and is not by focusing on women’s age and clothing and by directly and indirectly questioning their abilities and authority. The norms are also rendered visible by the positive attention that women receive while describing doing what is expected of a woman.