The two-tone sound of a siren on a fire engine rushing by used to make Leanne Newell’s heart skip a beat as a child – she always wished she could one day join in.
This week, not only did her wish come true but she made history in the process. On Tuesday, she was one of three women who have become the Civil Protection Department’s first female firefighters.
Ms Newell, along with Mandy Briguglio and Dorothy Sammut, have joined the CPD as Assistance and Rescue Officers (ARO) after 18 weeks of intensive training.
Her father was a firefighter too, so Ms Newell spent many a day with him rushing from station to station and riding in fire engines whenever she got the chance.
Previously employed as a corporate administrator, she was engaged with the CPD as a volunteer firefighter for three years before taking the leap and applying to be an ARO.
“Being a volunteer firefighter for three years really gave me the push I needed to apply. The more I volunteered the more I felt my love for the profession grow,” she said.
“I used to tour stations and go out with AROs from time to time. The more practical the work I got to do as a volunteer, the more sense of satisfaction I felt. It made me feel like I belonged and that I should be here permanently.”
At the fire station, volunteer firefighters do much of the same work of an ARO.
If they complete their fire course they can sometimes accompany AROs who answer calls out.
For Ms Briguglio, discipline and duty were always qualities that attracted her to the line of work.
When you step out to do your duty, you have to leave the rest of who you are behind you
“I never thought of myself as someone who would end up sitting down all day in an office job, I’ve always needed a more active line of work to keep me satisfied,” she said.
“To be a firefighter you have to have a lot of energy and a lot of focus. When you step out to do your duty, you have to leave the rest of who you are behind you.”
Ms Briguglio said there was always more to learn about the variety of rescue scenarios that an ARO could encounter. She hopes to continue widening her knowledge base and perhaps even aspire to leadership roles in the future.
“The more you study and practise, the more you’ll learn. But for now I’m just taking it one step at a time,” she said.
Ms Sammut said that despite the challenge, becoming a firefighter brought her a lot of satisfaction.
She had been finishing her diploma in Security, Enforcement and Protection when the call for applications for ARO officers came out and felt as though a career path was falling into place.
“Training was difficult but I never give up and because I really wanted this job, I powered through,” Ms Sammut said.
“I worked to stay focused because I knew this was what I wanted and I wasn’t going to settle for less.”
Teamwork, Ms Sammut said, was essential to the entire experience of becoming a firefighter: all the recruits and her new colleagues supported each other.
Did the new firefighters find it particularly significant that they are the first women to join the department?
“It’s a good thing of course, that we’ve made history in this way, because not a lot of women go into this line of work,” Ms Briguglio replied.
“It’s an honour and something to be proud of, to be sure,” Ms Newell added.
“But I think nowadays it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. If you’re cut out for it, everyone is capable of any kind of work.”
As for Ms Sammut, she felt “it has to be a calling, not just a job”.
“But I don’t think women should feel intimidated going into traditionally male-dominated professions,” she said.
“Anyone can do the work. If the three of us managed, why shouldn’t anyone else be able to?”