History was made at a North Vancouver fire hall on Thursday.
For the first time, one of the District’s fire engines was staffed by an all-female crew.
The four women of Engine 4 responded to multiple calls on Thursday and while each of them bring a unique skillset to the crew, all of them share the same passion for the job.
They also want to inspire women not to be afraid to enter a male-dominated field.
“Awareness to little girls that this is an option if it’s something they feel passionate about,” Capt. Carla Penman with the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said.
“I never even thought of it until I was a teenager and a firefighter suggested it to me. He said, ‘I think you’d be good at this’.”
“I think that’s changed now because I never saw women on the firetruck driving by when I was little. But now if there’s anybody on the streets right now, they’re seeing four girls in the truck.”
Penman was the first female firefighter ever hired on the North Shore.
She is nearing retirement after 28 years of service and called the all-female crew a full-circle moment.
“Things are changing,” she said.
“There’s, you know, more and more females getting hired, and I think more girls are growing up with a passion for firefighting, rather than, you know, not even being aware that this was an option for them. So it’s great. The women have a lot to offer.”
Capt. Gillian Hicks told Global News that Penman paved the way for the rest.
“She was the first one, and so she sort of opened the door for the rest of us, and was there as somebody to mentor us as we got hired on,” she said.
While it was a historic day, the crew told Global News it also felt like a normal one, in the sense that they responded to calls as needed and helped those who needed it.