By Elizabeth L. T. Moore
New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The moment Shakira Samuel felt her job turn into a passion occurred on the first call she answered as a line firefighter with the New Haven Fire Department more than 20 years ago.
Responding to a person who had difficulty breathing, she got to apply what she learned in the academy, not on a mannequin but on an actual human. And she loved helping people.
“That’s when I realized I was destined to do this,” Samuel said.
Not many people in the fire department look like Samuel. However, her passion remains strong as she takes on a historic role as the first female assistant chief in the department, second in command to Fire Chief John Alston. With her swearing in this month as assistant chief of administration, Samuel became the highest-ranking female officer in the department’s more than 160 years.
There are 10 women in a department of more than 300 people, she said. There were only five when she first joined. Among her goals is to expose more women to the firefighting career and challenge the stigma of being in a male-dominated field.
Samuel feels the weight of this historic appointment, saying she has a duty to the city, its citizens and the fire department.
“Being the ‘first’ is — I’m not going to lie — it’s empowering,” she said. “And I know I have people watching me. I have little girls and boys of all ages and colors watching me. So I want to set a good example for them.”
Samuel’s duties will include administration of the budget, discipline, special projects, policy, and facility management, Alston said in a news release.
“Chief Samuel has been a tremendous resource and has been a rising star in our department,” he said.
After working as a line firefighter and emergency medical technician for 15 years, Samuel became interested in other parts of the department. She moved to the fire marshal’s office and worked as acting supervisor of fire investigation. Last year, she was promoted to deputy fire marshal.
But Samuel didn’t initially see herself in this career. It took some persuasion from a family member who was a firefighter to convince her, a single mother, that she should apply and that there were already capable women doing the job. Samuel said she had seen firefighters her whole life in New Haven, and none of them were women.
It was hard being a mother in such a demanding career, but Samuel thinks some aspects of motherhood have helped her in her job.
“Women bring a calmness, in my opinion,” she said, adding, “Because I am a mother, I have to be organized in what I do in my career, in my job.”
Her career has also influenced her children to help people: One is a pharmacy technician, one is a surgical technician, and one hopes to serve in the fire department, police department, or Army.
“I think by doing this job, my children saw that I really dedicated myself to helping people,” Samuel said. “And this job is truly a dedication. You’ve got to have it in your heart.”
(c)2024 the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.)
Visit the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.) at www.nhregister.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
