Historic step up
Justine Mabey elected Bible Hill Fire Brigade’s first female chief officer
When Justine Mabey moved to the area eight years ago to attend nursing school at the Nova Scotia Community College, she looked to become involved with a group where she could meet people and provide a service to her new community.
The Bible Hill Fire Brigade fit the bill perfectly.
“I knew very few people around Bible Hill so I thought that might be a way to kind of get to know people,” says Mabey, who grew up in Fall River and had lived in Halifax before moving to Colchester County. “I was already interested in the fire service as a whole so I thought it would be a cool thing to try out.”
Mabey (nee Kelly) trained as a volunteer firefighter and quickly grew to love it. She fit right in with the Bible Hill brigade and its members and was certain to absorb as much information as possible over the years to help her develop in the role.
In climbing the ladder, Mabey worked her way up to lieutenant and, eventually, captain of the brigade. During the department’s regular monthly meeting on Dec. 1, the 30-year-old took a historic step when she was elected second deputy chief, making her the first female chief officer in the 75-year history of the brigade.
“It’s very exciting; I’m definitely humbled by that,” says Mabey. “It’s very cool to be able to say that I was the first. There have been many strong and talented women in the brigade before me, so I am very proud to be able to say that I’ve gotten to the deputy chief spot and I’m very excited to move forward into it.”
Mabey, the brigade’s current captain, will officially start in her new position in mid-January. As second deputy chief, she will be a top decision maker within the department and will also oversee equipment operations and membership recruitment.
Joey Bisson, chief of the Bible Hill brigade, has worked alongside Mabey since she joined and has watched her develop into a committed and proficient firefighter.
“She’s extremely hard working, she’s very dedicated, she’s become a very strong and confident leader and she’s earned the respect of all her peers throughout the office as well as throughout the whole department,” says Bisson.
“She’s done a great job over the years,” he adds. “It’s been really kind of amazing to see her progress from when she joined, to lieutenant, then serving as captain for a year, and just how the members respect her and follow her lead on a lot of things; it’s been nice to see her develop that over the years.”
“There have been many strong and talented women in the brigade before me.”
Justine Mabey Bible Hill Fire Brigade second deputy chief
Mabey says she is grateful to have been elected second deputy chief by her peers.
“It means a lot to me. I respect everyone at that department so much. I think we have such a wonderful, professional group of people, so it really means a lot to me to have their support and to trust me to put me into that position.”
Mabey’s interest in firefighting was piqued while growing up in Fall River where the community centre and fire station are located in the same building. Often, while visiting the community centre, she would venture over to the fire station to look at trucks and chat with firefighters. She later lived in Halifax near a fire station and had friends who entered the fire service, which took her own interest to another level.
“I was definitely interested in it while I was in Halifax but there’s less volunteer opportunities in the fire service in Halifax where they have so many career staff,” she says. “So, when I moved to Bible Hill there was an opportunity there, so I took that.”
Mabey is one of 33 volunteer firefighters at the Bible Hill brigade, and just one of four women. She says the camaraderie among members is special and everyone is treated equal and with respect.
“We do a lot of different things together as a group so it’s really kind of a big family down there. When I first moved, they were the people that I first knew and we’re still very close as a group. There’s a lot of great members down there so there’s never a lack of motivation to be around the hall and around the members. We do a lot of training and fire calls but a lot of stuff outside of fire calls and it’s a lot of fun.”
Mabey is an LPN on the surgical inpatient unit at the Colchester-East Hants Health Centre in Truro and her professional career seems to go hand-in-hand with her role as a volunteer firefighter and the desire to help others.
For Mabey, firefighting is also a family affair. Her husband Mike is a career firefighter with the Truro
Fire Service and has been a volunteer in Bible Hill for more than 20 years. During the Dec. 1 election of officers, Mike was elected captain.
Justine says there’s never a shortage of shop talk at home.
“I think it’s more so just talking fire tactics because we very much enjoy the science behind it and that sort of thing,” she says. “We’re kind of both fire nerds in that way, so we do enjoy talking about it a lot. It’s nice to have another person that shares that with you and to be able to talk about it.”
With his vast knowledge during a long career in the fire service, Mike is also someone Justine can turn to for advice.
“He definitely is. It’s really nice to be able to kind of talk things out, especially with someone who understands and is around for all that stuff,” she says. “He also knows the equipment very well … we’re very fortunate in that way to have all the equipment that we do, but keeping it all up can be a learning curve and he’s very smart with that sort of thing so he definitely helps out, and even with just what to do on a fire scene; there’s an infinite amount of situations that we find ourselves in so it’s nice to talk it out, even after the fact.”
Being a volunteer firefighter has become a big part of Justine’s life. She says she looks forward to continuing in the role well into the future and providing a vital service to her community.
“I won’t be leaving anytime soon. I think I would have a really hard time stepping away if I ever had to. I think that I’d love to stay for many years to come; I just enjoy it so much.”