By Jessica Johnson
When Deputy Chief Carol Wallace began working at the Aptos-La Selva Fire District she was the first and only female fire fighter on staff. As she prepared to retire after 28 years of service, she remained only one of two female firefighters in Aptos and just a handful in the county. In fact, she was the only female firefighter on the roster at the Aptos- La Selva Fire District for 25 years.
“Nationwide I think that less than 2% [of firefighters] are women,” Wallace said.
While clearly stating she that she always felt supported by the administration at Aptos-La Selva Fire, she began her fire service career in Florida where the atmosphere was decidedly different. “Being a competent assertive strong woman was definitely a threatening to the hiring people and the people that worked there,” she recalled.
There were only four women in her fire academy class of 120 and Wallace was the only woman who survived the first day of training. “I never knew there was an obstacle,” she said about being a female in a predominantly male occupation. “I just kept going and never looked back.”
Wallace attributes her no-nonsense approach to her upbringing. Born into a medical family in the Bay Area, her father was a physician and Chief Resident at UCSF for a while and her mother was a nurse practitioner. After her father decided to pursue another aspect of work in the medical field, her parents moved Wallace and her three siblings to the East Coast.
“My parents told us we could do whatever we wanted,” Wallace said. “I really grew up kind of naively thinking that there were no obstacles for women or anybody going into any field they want.”
Wallace attended Vassar before finding her way back to California to finish school. She rediscovered her childhood dream of working in emergency medicine, and went to work as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and then as a paramedic on an ambulance in southern California. After a few years there she moved to Florida and graduated from the fire academy in Largo Florida where she was hired by the Largo Fire Department. However, “It was really, really hot there,” she said [no pun intended], so she made it her mission to get back to California.
“I targeted Aptos because it was the only agency in the county, at that time, that had paramedics within the fire department,” she recalled. Wallace climbed up the ladder and worked as an Engine Company Officer before being promoted to Deputy Fire Marshall 14 years ago.
“It’s the best job in the world,” she said. “…The best and the worst. The best parts are the teamwork, the camaraderie, taking care of people and doing the good work. Seeing so much tragedy and sadness and sickness is the flip side.”
Wallace said the sudden, random traffic accidents where people are killed – especially young people – are some of the most difficult calls to be a part of. Over the years, it has become more acceptable for first responders to express their sadness over the oftentimes-tragic calls they have to go to. “We’ve tried… to support the emotional experience and needs of the rescue workers,” she said. “We care about the community and want to do meaningful work and be prepared for it physically and emotionally – that is very important to this agency.”
That sense of family and shared dedication to the community is part of what helps the district maintain an exceptionally low turnover rate. With a small wave of retirements on the horizon there are many new faces joining the team. “It’s exciting to see how smart and wonderful they are and how much they care about the community and agency and the work that we do,” Wallace said.
Fire Chief Jon Jones points out that Wallace’s influence will be seen in many of the new faces joining the department. “[She] cares about our young citizens, teaching, coaching and mentoring young fire service men and women as a Cabrillo College EMT instructor.”
Fortunately, Wallace will get to maintain her connection to the community; it will just come in different forms. She plans to use the first few months of her retirement to establish a new routine with her husband – who has been retired from the Sheriff’s Office for several years. She also plans to take some time to relax with friends and family, like her daughter, a senior at Cal. Eventually, she anticipates returning to teaching.
I asked Deputy Chief Wallace if she had any parting words and she said, “I’m going to miss my co-workers and the community – they are really what it’s all about. It’s been an honor.”
According to Chief Jones, the feeling is mutual, “Carol will be greatly missed by the community and the Aptos/La Selva Fire Family,” he said. “We wish her a long and healthy retirement.”
•••
Aptos-La Selva Fire District Personnel Changes/ Additions
Additional Retirees: Division Chief Mike Conrad 33 years • Fire Captain Robert Snyder 27 years
Promotions: Scott Cullen promoted to Division Chief • Nigel Miller promoted to Fire Captain • Aaron Hershey promoted to Fire Captain
New Hires: Firefighter Miguel Ceja-Rodriquez • Firefighter/Paramedic Rick Andrews • Firefighter/Paramedic Thomas Gigliotti