MONROE, CT — Samantha Kearney recently became the first female officer in the Stepney Volunteer Fire Department’s 107 year history. She was appointed to the rank of lieutenant by Darren Dyson, the fire company’s new chief.
“Everybody sees how talented Samantha is and that’s why they gave her so much support,” Dyson said of his department’s other members. “They respect her as a firefighter and a leader.”
“I had quite a few pats on the back to be honest with you, just for seeing the potential in Samantha years ago,” he said during an interview at the firehouse at 801 Main St. Tuesday. “My hope is she will be the first female chief of this department in the distant future,” Dyson added with a smile.
The long wait for a female officer could be attributed to the fact that, historically, most firefighters have been men. Of the Stepney’s department’s roughly 30 firefighters, two are women, according to Dyson. The other female is Emily Florin. The fire company also has a new female junior firefighter, Lucy Kimberly.
“I never wanted to be an officer,” Kearney said. “I never wanted to drive.”
“Samantha has been my project,” Dyson said. “I saw a tremendous amount of potential in her. Three years ago, when I was the training officer, I made her a driver and now a lieutenant.”
When firefighters responded to a blaze at Northbrook Condominiums on Saturday, Sept. 14, Kearney led the interior attack for the first time in her career as a volunteer firefighter.
“I was nervous and it felt like forever,” she said. “Darren said it was mere minutes, but it felt like hours.”
Dyson said Kearney also serves as the chief’s administrative assistant and organizes all of Stepney’s fire prevention events. While going out to the schools, Kearney said she thinks it’s good for girls to see a female firefighter among the visitors.
No longer left behind
While growing up in town, Kearney went to the Stepney firehouse with her mother, who played Bingo there.
“I became really good friends with a boy at the department, so that brought me back more to hang out with a group of friends — and my stepfather was a volunteer firefighter here,” Kearney recalled.
She joined the Stepney Volunteer Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary in 2005. Then, after all of the times she was left behind when her friends went out on calls, Kearney decided to become a firefighter herself in 2010.
“My mom thought it was like ‘Backdraft’, then ‘Ladder 49′” Kearney said of two movies in which firefighters rushed into dangerous infernos on a regular basis. “It’s not like that, until it is. Now she’s seen what we do and she’s gotten more comfortable over the years.”
Kearney initially did not aspire to anything other than one of Monroe’s Bravest, until Dyson’s encouragement.
Dyson was elected chief during the Stepney Volunteer Fire Department’s monthly meeting. He said he wanted to promote Kearney to the role of lieutenant that night, but she was away.
“I didn’t want to make her wait until the next monthly meeting, so I promoted her in my office one evening,” Dyson recalled.
“I was happy, but a little shocked and a little nervous,” Kearney said. “I didn’t want to mess anything up.”
During an emergency call, six people go on a fire engine: the driver, the officer and four firefighters. From fires and reports of smoke to vehicle crashes, as a lieutenant, Kearney will lead a crew. And if the chief is not present, she will serve as the incident commander at the scene.
After learning about her promotion, Kearney called her husband, Jonathan, on the way home. The couple has two daughters, Baileigh, 12, and Ryleigh, 6. Kearney’s mother, Barbara, and stepfather, Joseph Agachinski, live with them.
Kearney said everyone was proud of her and she appreciates the support of her peers at the firehouse.
“It’s truly awesome,” Dyson said. “We’re very lucky to have her.”
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