EDUCATION | Driving tomorrow’s achievements
08 December 2008
Every Call Is Different
by Andrea Clark
A female firefighter recalls how she gave up a career in engineering to enter a lower-paying, high-risk profession.
Andrea Clark is a 15-year veteran firefighter and paramedic. She told her story to freelance journalist Phyllis McIntosh.
I was just over a year into my engineering career when I decided this wasn’t for me and I wanted to pursue becoming a firefighter. I graduated in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering and went to work for the Department of the Army in its night-vision laboratories, where I worked mostly on contract agreements for development of specific cameras. My supervisor kept wanting to put me through all these classes so I could continue to move up, but I’m an active person and don’t like to sit around. I was already familiar with firefighting because I had been a volunteer firefighter since I was in college, so I decided — you know what? — it’s time to switch careers.
I enrolled in a two-year fire science program at a local community college and began to go through the written and physical testing process to be hired as a professional firefighter. I got job offers at the same time from the City of Fairfax and the County of Fairfax in northern Virginia. It was a big decision, but ultimately I decided to go with the smaller, two-station, 65-person city department. It’s a family environment. We all know each other and see each other more often, as compared to the larger county department, which has 41 stations.
I was just the second woman hired by my department. One thing I learned is never say you can do something you cannot do. I understand my limitations and was not afraid to ask for help or clarification. The guys respected that.
I love being a firefighter because every call is different, whether we’re answering an emergency medical services call, a fire alarm, or actually going to fight a structure fire. It’s a very physical job. But I’ve always been a physically fit, active person and played sports when I was growing up, so staying active has kept me interested in the job.
This is an inherently dangerous job, but that’s usually not the first thing that crosses my mind. If I crawl into a building that’s on fire or we go to a car fire, to me it’s exciting.
In my 15 years with the department, I’ve moved up through the ranks. I started as a firefighter, became a paramedic, and after that I became a lieutenant and spent five years as a fire marshal. I inspected city buildings to make sure they were in compliance with the fire code. When there was a fire, I would investigate and determine if it was accidental or purposely set. I had police powers to make an arrest if necessary.
In the meantime, I had two children, now 11 and 6, and I decided I needed to go back to shift work so I could spend more quality time with my family. A captain position opened up, and that’s where I am now. That means I am station supervisor when I am on shift. I work a 24-hour shift, then have 24 hours off, and cycle that over five days. Then I have a four-day break. I can often take my kids to school and pick them up, and we do things in the afternoon. It’s easy to visit their school.
I’m 40 years old now, and I’m very happy with what I’m doing. I hope to retire at age 50 with 25 years service. The next step in my career would be battalion chief, a job that can include commanding a fire scene or accident scene. I don’t want to be in that position yet, but in five years it might be different.
When people ask me about making a career change, I tell them go with your heart. If you don’t like what you’re doing, you’re not going to want to go to work every day. I took a $15,000 pay cut when I made the switch, but then money didn’t mean anything to me. I wanted to be happy. I was only 25 and had no children, so I also had the time and energy to pursue a new career.
I don’t always feel fulfilled when I go home from a shift. Certainly, we don’t always have fires to fight. But there are days when we deliver a baby, or save the life of a man who is having a heart attack, or simply provide sand bags to a woman scared that her house will flood during a storm. That woman was so grateful that she gave me a tearful hug and later sent a wonderful thank-you note. That’s why I do what I do.
