Brookline Makes History: Fire Lt. Leah Shatkin Swears In [Photos]

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline hit an historic milestone when officials promoted firefighter Leah Shatkin to lieutenant. She becomes the first firefighter who is a woman to hold that rank permanently in the town. The moment is not lost on town officials:

"It is a great evening for the Brookline Fire Department," said Fire Chief John Sullivan during the Select Board Meeting Tuesday in which Shatkin was sworn in. "Firsts are a wonderful thing. Leah represents the first of what we hope to be many promotions."

Sullivan said he was honored to have her promoted on his watch. Select Board Chairman echoed that sentiment.

"We all talk about the importance of diversity in our departments, and I hope you don't take that to mean that you're responsible for making that diversity work," said Select Board Member Bernard Greene. He went on to say Shatkin brought valuable perspective the department could use.

"Your role will play and important part in making sure the department improves and becomes more excellent, because of maybe a certain sensitivity that you have that the rest of us may not have," said Greene.

Shatkin told Patch after her swear-in that she hadn't had time to fully examine how big of a deal this was.

"I'm not sure I really have processed it yet. The women who came before me set the stage for me: Patty joined ... years before I came on, and Linda had been here for [for a long, time, too]. I really want to say a big thank you to them," said Shatkin. "It really feels like the three of us are taking a big step forward together with this promotion."

As for what this may mean for potential future firefighters?

"If a little girl sees me out and around helping in my uniform or sees my story and thinks in their brain 'I think I could do that,' then it's a big step for us all," she said.

Shatkin grew up with her twin sister and her brother in their family home in Brookline. It just so happened it was a home Shatkin's parents bought some 30 years ago from a former Brookline firefighter. When he moved out, he gave his Brookline fire helmet to her brother Matt.

So perhaps it's no surprise that more than one of the siblings gravitated toward the civil service exam. Still, Shatkin said a career in the fire department wasn't exactly planned.

"My whole life I thought I would be a cop. Don't tell," she said, laughing.

But after she went to college and started working as an EMT, her brother got a job as a firefighter a few years before her, and his experience influenced her.

After she took the civil service exam, she had to make a choice whether to continue with the fire or police department.

"I decided to go with fire, and haven't looked back. I love my Brookline Police Department, but I'm happy to be on the fire department," she said. "I think maybe it was written in the stars to be in the fire department, my brother's a firefighter, my sister is in dispatch."

And speaking of family, Shatkin describes a sense of family within the fire department that she loves most about working there.

"As with any job, it can take some time to adjust and see where you fit in -male or female" she said. But as she worked to find her place, she had role models along the way.

"Patty and Linda were great to me — and so were plenty of the guys," she said.

Shatkin graduated from Brookline High School in 2009 got her Bachelor of Arts from Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva NY and a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Science from Anna Maria College of Paxton. And in 2015, when she came on some 18 years after the first woman sworn in, she became the fourth woman to work for the Fire Department full-time.

" I could be very happy to do this for 32 years," she said.

Her message for young girls?

"The fire department is a career that any kid can grow up to be a part of. There are opportunities for women, know that it's out there," she said.

Her mother, Lenora Shatkin, said she was a little shocked at how much prep and work goes into preparing to take the officers' exam. She said she watched her daughter spend hours studying for the lieutenants' exam.

"We saw how hard she worked throughout this process, we're really proud of her. She's an incredibly disciplined young woman," she said.

The members of the Brookline Select Board said they're ready to see more like Shatkin ascend the ranks.

"It's a step in the right direction. The profession has been historically male, and I'm just glad to see that we are bringing women in and I hope that trend will continue," said Wishinksy.

RELATED: In Brookline First, Female Firefighter To Get Promoted

Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).