The KV Fire Department has hired its first full-time female firefighter

It’s a first.

Karen Trecartin, 25, of Quispamsis, has been hired as the first female firefighter at the Kennebecasis Valley Fire Department.

The fire department was formed in 1924 and currently has 35 career members and 16 volunteer members.

“A big part of it is helping people in a time of need,” Trecartin said. “I was raised here so to be able to help the people who live here is something that is important to me.”

Trecartin, a mother of two, is a paramedic for Ambulance New Brunswick in Saint John. After volunteering for the fire department for three years she has been hired as a casual relief firefighter.

Divisional Chief Bill Ireland said firefighting has been traditionally a male-oriented field and Trecartin was the first woman to become involved with the fire department and meet its requirements.

Trecartin admits she did not grow up dreaming of driving a big red truck and fighting fires like many of the men at the firehouse, but she did become interested in the job during her experience as a paramedic.

Trecartin said she found firefighting interesting and after volunteering she discovered it was the job for her.

She said she is not scared during fires because she doesn’t have time to be. She is just trying to get the job done.

Trecartin didn’t set out to be the first woman firefighter at the Kennebecasis Valley Fire Department, but now that she is she thinks it is a positive step for the community.

“It’s good especially for the younger females who are looking for a career, to know that really there are no boundaries,” Trecartin said. “You can do whatever you want as long as you put your mind to it and work hard for it, and you will feel like you deserve it when you get there because you worked as hard as everyone else.”

Trecartin said she wouldn’t be doing the job if she didn’t love it, because it takes great physical and emotional strength and hard work to succeed.

Trecartin volunteered for the fire department while working full time for Ambulance New Brunswick and raising her young family. When she found out there was an opportunity to be hired as a career firefighter she began to train with her youngest child only four months old.

Trecartin said she did cardio and weight training four days a week to get her in top shape for the job and the fitness test all firefighters must take before being hired.

“It’s definitely not easy; it’s something you really have to work for,” Trecartin said. “For me, that was the biggest challenge about getting in here. Being a girl you have to work for your strength and maintain it. It doesn’t always come naturally as it would with a guy.”

The Quispamsis woman said she doesn’t mind working in a firehouse with 51 men. She said it is about the people, not whether they are male or female, and the fire department is a good team.

“Half the time I forget I’m the only girl here,” she said. “I like to think I fit in nicely.”

Trecartin is one of two firsts during this hiring cycle, said Ireland.

Matt McCully, 27, is the first person to be hired that is the son of another firefighter. Matt McCully said he grew up around the fire department with his dad Mark McCully. He didn’t set out wanting to be a firefighter but said after completing university he volunteered for the department and developed a passion for the job.

Ireland said the fire department is looking for more volunteer members. For more information visit www.kvfire.ca or phone 848-6601.