Boulder City’s first full-time female firefighter in 25 years blazes a trail

Sarah Mitre-Hall was a teen successful California erstwhile she peered retired a car model and saw a pistillate moving successful enactment with a radical of firefighters.

It was a little but monumental infinitesimal that shaped Mitre-Hall’s beingness trajectory.

“I thought that was the astir astonishing thing,” Mitre-Hall said of seeing the pistillate firefighter. “It was truthful inspiring.”

On Friday, she worked her archetypal displacement arsenic a full-time firefighter with the Boulder City Fire Department. She is the archetypal pistillate employed full-time by the section since 1998.

It took Mitre-Hall astir a decennary to fulfill her imagination of becoming a firefighter.

“As I was turning into an adult, I didn’t consciousness similar I had capable beingness acquisition yet,” Mitre-Hall said. “You bash spot immoderate large stuff. There is simply a batch of trauma.”

She worked jobs successful the veterinary and aesculapian fields for astir 10 years. It was her sister who reminded her of her dream.

“She was successful the concern of selling high-end cosmetics and 1 time she decided, ‘I’m going to beryllium a constabulary officer,’” Mitre-Hall said. “She conscionable got up and did it. She inspired maine to pursuit my imagination arsenic well.”

Mitre-Hall started with Boulder City Fire Department successful October 2020 arsenic a occurrence cadet.

She completed the occurrence academy successful February 2021 and became a reserve oregon part-time firefighter. Then successful July, she became the city’s occurrence analyst.

“The occurrence expert presumption was adjuvant due to the fact that it made maine much rounded successful knowing wherefore we bash what we bash and however it impacts the community,” Mitre-Hall said.

The presumption focuses connected risk-reduction programs specified arsenic CPR classes, stop-bleed classes and kid attraction classes, she said.

She worked successful the presumption for a small implicit a twelvemonth earlier being hired arsenic a full-time firefighter.

“Full-time openings are precise overmuch sought-after roles and she roseate to the apical of the hiring process,” Fire Chief Will Gray said successful a statement.

The lone different pistillate firefighter ever employed by the section started successful 1997 but was rapidly hired by different department.

“Unfortunately, we often suffer recruits to jobs successful neighboring communities, wherever they employment acold much staff,” City Manager Taylour Tedder said successful a statement. “The section has made a committedness to hiring the champion of the best. After moving with Sarah connected respective occasions, I tin accidental Boulder City is getting 1 of the best.”

Mitre-Hall said firefighting jobs person ever gone to the astir qualified applicants, careless of gender. “It is challenging, but you tin bid and get beardown and you tin bash it,” she said.

“I deliberation it is important to reflector the assemblage with the diverseness successful a department,” she said. “There are times erstwhile idiosyncratic mightiness respond amended to a pistillate presence.”

Mitre-Hall cited an illustration of an injured pistillate being uncertain astir going to the hospital.

“I told her that if she was my mother, I would privation her to spell to the hospital,” Mitre-Hall said. “She had a girl and related to that.”

Mitre-Hall said it was “cool” to enactment her archetypal full-time displacement Friday and that she was looking guardant to getting done her rookie year.

“What I similar astir astir this vocation is rolling retired connected the rig toward idiosyncratic successful need, knowing that I’m going to marque a affirmative interaction successful someone’s life,” Mitre-Hall said. “That consciousness of intent and work align with what I consciousness is my calling.”

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