The fire service: it’s not just for men
42-YEAR- OLD Maura Quirke was the only female recruit in the latest batch of fire officers to graduate last week. She now brings the number of female fire officers in Kerry to six – five crew members and assistant chief fire officer, Dawn Foster.
Maura is the first female fire officer to be stationed at Tralee Fire station, but she is hoping that her appointment might lead the way for other women to join up.
She had always wanted to be a fire officer and is thrilled that she was chosen for the role having undergone an interview and suitability testing. She also underwent rigorous training in recent weeks and duly started her career battling gorse fires in the Tralee area on Saturday night.
“I woke the house up when my beeper went off on Saturday but it was very exciting ... we were putting the training into actionI just love, love it,” she said.
Despite having always wanted to be in the role, she decided to wait until her children were older before taking the leap. Having worked in catering at the Bon Secours Hospital for 24 years, she decided that she wanted something different from the second half of her career.
While Maura further increased the number of female fire officers, it was Sinead Galvin who broke the ‘glass ceiling’ when she joined 25 years ago, becoming the first-ever female fire officer in Kerry. And she has no regrets.
She said many women did not see it as a job for them, but that’s changing. She moved from hotel management and says the role is ‘rewarding and challenging’ but, male or female, it requires dedication as you are on call 24/7.
I WOKE THE HOUSE WHEN MY BEEPER WENT OFF ON SATURDAY NIGHT, IT WAS VERY EXCITING... I JUST LOVE IT