IT TAKES A CERTAIN KIND OF PERSON TO BE A FIREFIGHTER. Imagine how extraordinary the women who choose this profession are.

The Town of Caledon Department of Fire and Emergency Services employs one of the largest forces of volunteer firefighters in the province of Ontario, and the service they provide is second to none. In 2008, there were 2,274 incidents where Caledon Fire and Emergency Services was called to respond. Their average response time was 8.6 minutes. Given the huge geographical area they serve, and the fact that the volunteer firefighters must head from home to the fire hall first, it is a remarkable level of service.

Only 10 of the 249 Caledon firefighters are women, which makes these dedicated, hard working people just over 4% of the human talent working for Fire and Emergency Services. It is a ratio much lower than other non-traditional female jobs such as police services, but increasingly, women are choosing the fire services.

In Caledon, of those 10 female firefighters, only one woman is employed full time; the other nine women volunteer. They love the work and say that volunteering gives them the ‘best of both worlds.’

The very first woman firefighter in Caledon was Marina Sawinsky of Palgrave, who was hired by former Chief, Bob Hilton, in 1989 for her ‘attitude and strength.’ Chief Hilton mentored Sawinsky, ensuring her success, thereby paving the way for other women firefighters throughout Caledon. In the 2004 book Answering the Call, which chronicles the history of firefighting in the Town of Caledon, Chief Hilton is quoted:

“I would be glad to have a full crew of females who were strong enough to drag hose, throw up ladders and carry a generator. Body strength is all important on the fire scene and anyone who can’t keep up becomes the weak link in the chain, whether they are men or women.”

Chief Boyd Finger subsequently worked to create a climate of acceptance for women. He felt that women should feel comfortable in performing their duties and have the same opportunities as their male counterparts, to contribute and advance in the fire service.

“I never realized how hard it would be,” says volunteer firefighter Kaaren Densham of Inglewood, in respect to the firefighter training course. A registered nurse, Kaaren also wanted to be able to be called upon for emergencies in her village. The rigorous training to become a firefighter may have been rather more than she bargained for initially, but, like all of the other women on the fire department, Kaaren found it immensely satisfying to live up to the challenge and has now been with the service for 2-1/2 years.

Pamela Hall is the only current full time woman fire-fighter in Caledon, and works from the Bolton fire hall. A highly competent presence, she has nine years of combined service as both volunteer and career firefighter, and is also qualified to drive the large tanker and ladder pumpers. All of the other women firefighters volunteer for Caledon, however, several actually work full time for other municipal fire services, such as Richmond Hill, Erin and the City of Brampton.

Mary Brock and Mandy Gould are volunteer firefighters from Inglewood, and each has five years of service. Lee-Ann Lawrence from Alton, has been with Caledon Fire for six months, but has eight years experience working as a full time firefighter with the Erin Fire Department, and as a dispatcher in Richmond Hill. Katherine Barnes (two years experience) and Debbie Martin (six months) are from Bolton. Sheri Gilliard hails from Caledon East and has been with the fire services for 3-1/2 years. From Caledon Village is Melinda Elen, with four years experience, while Melody Murray, from Palgrave, has seven years experience volunteering with Caledon Fire. These dedicated fire service volunteers come from varied backgrounds, with day jobs ranging from school administration to construction trades, nursing, hazardous materials handling, landscaping, corporate professions and dental technology.

You might be wondering why anyone would want to put themselves through unbelievably challenging training courses just to volunteer for a job that could put them in danger.

The women from Caledon Fire and Emergency Services were unanimous in answering the question; without a doubt, they all want to be of service. They all relish a challenge and like to give back to their communities. Often, when called upon, they are lending aid to people they know, their own neighbours, and even with the constant training, it is a good three years before they consider themselves competent at what they do.

These women are also terrific role models for young women and are often called upon to speak to school groups, Brownies and Girl Guides. They speak well about the nature of their work and how being of service in their communities with a great team of similarly dedicated people, is immensely rewarding.

Of the incidents they respond to, medical calls are the most frequent. Perhaps it is someone with cardiac arrest, or an infant choking; Fire and Emergency Services are often the first on the scene. Other frequent calls in Caledon are car accidents and grass fires. With the advent of smoke detectors, house fires are mercifully few and far between in Caledon these days, though occasionally there are calls for carbon monoxide poisoning.

It turns out that there are significant advantages for women in firefighting. Sheri Gilliard, from the Caledon East fire hall, notes that the smaller size of many women is an asset. “We can crawl into spaces the guys just can’t reach,” she says. She is just as able as the next man (or is that woman?) to drag an unconscious person from a flaming building, but when it comes to getting into an attic or a dormer to deal with stubborn flames, the slightly built Gilliard is likely to be the first to be called upon.

These are exceptional women indeed. They are dedicated people who are all drawn to emergency services work. It’s definitely a calling, say the women of Caledon Fire. They say you won’t last through the training if you’re not the right kind of person – male or female.

These ten women definitely have the right stuff.