County’s first female firefighter hangs up her hose after 30 years
The first female firefighter to join West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is hanging up her hose after 30 years.
Samantha Evans from Rustington, who spent the bulk of her career at Horsham fire station, joined the service in December 1990, aged 23.
The mother-of-three said she was already used to working predominantly around men after five years of employment at an engineering firm, and was not daunted to learn she would be the first woman on the watch. “I didn’t even really think about it, to me it didn’t make any difference,” she said.
Her first colleagues in Horley were ‘ a fairly old school bunch’ who she said treated her just like any new recruit.
Samantha, now 54, said she had always had ‘a good experience’ in the service
– though she said she sometimes got ‘funny looks’ from members of the public, particularly when driving the fire engine.
Nowadays things have progressed and there are
women firefighters based at most stations, she said, adding: “It’s more matter of fact now.”
After her first four years in Horley, Samantha moved to Horsham fire station.
She has attended many notable incidents over the years, including a large fire at a hangar in Gatwick.
And while she has had short stints in office roles, particularly during her pregnancies, she said her heart was in front line fire fighting.
“That’s the role I really love,” she said. “I’m quite calm under pressure.”
After 30 years of service, she said she was ‘gutted’ that coronavirus restrictions have stopped her from having a leaving do at the pub.
The nature of the job meant she was ‘really close’ to her colleagues, and she said: “You’re a team, that’s what’s so special about this job. If I go into a burning building with my BA partner, I have to rely on him to be the eyes that I don’t have. You’ve got each other’s lives in your hands.”
Chief Fire Officer Sabrina Cohen Hatton, who presented Samantha with a Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year, said she had ‘well and truly found her calling’. “She has paved the way for many to follow in her footsteps, and I hope that she does not underestimate the impact of the legacy that she leaves behind,” she said.