Bay Roberts Fire Rescue hopes to recruit more women

By Olivia Bradbury/Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In most places, firefighting is still a male-dominated profession. However, as time passes, more women are entering the field. Bay Roberts Fire Rescue Chief Michael Murphy and Training Officer Adam Russell hope to see more women joining their department.

At present, Bay Roberts has just one female volunteer firefighter. Chelsee Bradbury has been on the department for over five years and is the longest serving female member in the department’s history. She also works as a primary care paramedic.

Bradbury dreamed of being a firefighter-paramedic since she was a little girl but, to her knowledge, there are no career opportunities in Newfoundland to be a firefighter-paramedic—you either have to be one or the other. Being on the volunteer fire department while also working as a primary care paramedic allows her to follow both her passions.

“She is a huge asset to the department,” said Russell, noting that due to the healthcare system and ambulance services being stretched thin across the province, a firefighter is often the first to arrive on the scene after someone calls 911.

Firefighters are not allowed to transport people to the hospital, but they can use their medical training to help at the scene.

“Chelsee, being a primary care paramedic, gives us that little bit of an extra edge,” said Russell. “I’m able to kind of switch hats,” said Bradbury, who often offers advice and help to her fellow firefighters during medical training.

Bradbury also takes part in school programs, speaking to classes and teaching students about fire prevention and fire safety. “I can share something that I love so much with children who are just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” said Bradbury, who is the Bay Roberts contact for Learn Not to Burn, a fire safety program for students.

When asked what they think has contributed to a gender imbalance within the field of firefighting, Russell, Murphy and Bradbury agreed it is largely due to history.

“The fire departments years ago were referred to as a ‘boys club,’” said Russell. “And I hate that.”

But, Russell added, that’s far from the reality nowadays.

Bradbury admitted her first couple of years in the department were difficult as both a “newbie” and the only woman. “There were some defeating moments,” she said.

But as time went on, and she progressed in her career as a paramedic, and took more courses, things started changing. “I got more authority, and the respect kind of came,” said Bradbury.

“Like anything, good things come in time,” said Russell. “No department is perfect. We have grown drastically… There’s no ‘boys club’ here with Bay Roberts Fire Rescue. There’s a bunch of professionals who want to do a professional job.”

He allowed some male firefighters might be unsure of how to act around female firefighters, or might act differently around them. “They’re just normal people, just want to come here, have a good laugh,” he said, referring to female firefighters. “You don’t have to call her ‘my love,’ just call her by her name.”

Murphy said that applied to everyone, regardless of the gender. “Treat everybody with the same respect,” said Chief Murphy. “I’ve been finding as a new chief that if you show respect to people you’re going to get it back tenfold.”

Murphy said having more women firefighters would make the team stronger as there would be more varying perspectives within the department.

“We’re in a world where volunteers are becoming less and less, and if you can’t be inclusive, and try to include people, these organizations are going to fail,” he said. “As fire chief, as a leader, you have to have a very open, progressive mind.”

Murphy pointed out that women make up half the population. “Why can’t we tap into that part of the population?” he asked. “Across Canada, there’s many female fire chiefs who were trailblazers for all of this. Chelsee Bradbury’s probably going to be one of them at some point in her career.”

Murphy said the department has recently interviewed several female applicants. “Bay Roberts Fire has actually broken the stigma, and we have females applying, which is a huge success,” said the chief.

It has also recruited a female junior firefighter, Lauren Newell, through the junior firefighter program, which had its pilot earlier this year. Murphy hopes to run the program again this fall.

Bradbury would love to see more women in the fire department. She said the job is physically taxing and, given the nature of first responder work, it takes a certain kind of person, but she has met other female firefighters who are more than capable. To any women considering joining the fire department, Bradbury voices her encouragement. “Do it. It is something for me that has changed my life. I’ve become so much more confident in who I am, and I know what I want. And I have such great brothers and sisters in the fire department, but specifically my brothers in Bay Roberts Fire, who have just uplifted me beyond belief,” Bradbury said.

Murphy said for him, being a firefighter gives him a sense of pride in the community. “In a world that’s as dark as can be, it’s nice to know that you’re going to be able to be a little shine of hope for someone,” said Murphy.

Russell added that as a firefighter you become a part of something bigger than yourself. “When you go and you give it your best shot to give somebody help, there’s not a more better feeling in this world than waking up sore the next day and knowing, ‘You know what? I did something that not everybody’s going to do,’” Russell said.

He said in some cases all he has done is hold the hand of a scared person who was not even near the scene, and even that is fulfilling. “That’s what makes me want to be a volunteer firefighter,” said Russell.

Being a volunteer firefighter can open up career opportunities too. “It looks great on a resume,” said Russell.

 “There’s endless opportunities for career development and interpersonal development, too,” Bradbury agreed. “The list goes on. For me, personally, I have tried to avail of every learning opportunity, course, that the Town so graciously allows me to go to. They fund a lot of that.”

Anyone interested in applying to Bay Roberts Fire Rescue can get an application at the Bay Roberts Town Hall from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If an applicant is accepted there is a one-year probation period.

“That’s something we take very seriously because we do want the best of the best serving our community,” said Russell.