In Brookline First, Female Firefighter To Get Promoted

BROOKLINE, MA — In the two decades Brookline has had women working as firefighters in town, none of them have been promoted permanently. Until now.

The Brookline Select Board will promote Firefighter Leah Shatkin to lieutenant Tuesday. It is the first time a female firefighter will be promoted permanently in the town, according to officials.

Fire Chief John Sullivan called it an "historic occasion,” and one that sends a message to other women that Brookline has opportunities for diverse candidates.

If your fire department looks like your community, then you're more likely able to recruit members of that community into the service, said Sullivan.

“It's really important for us to show that it's not only an occupation with benefits, but it's one that has upward career mobility. For us to have our first female firefighter promoted to an officer officer, it shows that there is opportunity for promotion within the department as well,” he said.
Shatkin, who graduated from Brookline High School in 2009 and joined the department in 2015. She came to the department as a certified EMT, and was the fourth woman to work for the Fire Department full time.

“In the short time that I've been here, in a year, she's established herself she's a formidable presence," said Sullivan in a phone interview. He described Shatkin as dynamic and motivated.

"Her attitude and her zeal for learning and perfecting her craft - she's 100 percent dedicated to being the best firefighter she can be," he said.

Christine Hagerty was the first woman to join Brookline's department. She came into the department in 1998 and left in 2012. Over the years other women have filled in as temporary officers, but none have been permanently promoted.

“Any firsts are tremendously important to an organization, and this represents a special time,” said Sullivan. “The American Fire Service has traditionally been a male dominated occupation, although over the course of the last 30 years or so there has been a slight uptick in the number of women firefighters. The northeast probably lags behind when it comes to the female firefighters among the ranks, but that is changing as the years go by as well.”

What makes recruiting more women tricky, said Sullivan is that Brookline is a Civil Service department, so hiring is based on who takes the Civil Service Exam and preference are essentially given to Brookline residents who are veterans, then Brookline residents who are not veterans and it largely depends on getting that demographic to apply to take the exam.

Sullivan said Firefighter Linda Waldren, who’s been with the department for more than a decade, helped put together a public service video that appears on our website in an effort to recruit more women. Both Waldren and Shatkin have also been very active in education and outreach programs.

“It's an honor to be a member of this department, and after a year of service I'm even more admiring of the men and women and women who make up this department,” said Sullivan. “I couldn't be prouder to have that moment fall under my watch.”

Across the country only about 4 percent of firefighters are women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

This first woman believed to have acted as a firefighter was Molly Williams, who was held as a slave in New York City.

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