Connecticut Fire Department Appoints First Female Deputy Fire Chief

By Elizabeth LT Moore
New Haven Register

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The moment Shakira Samuel felt her work turn into passion happened on the first call she responded to as a line firefighter with the New Haven Fire Department more than 20 years.

Responding to a person who was having difficulty breathing, she was able to apply what she had learned at the academy, not on a mannequin but on a real human. And she loved helping people.

“That’s when I realized I was meant to do this,” Samuel said.

Few people in the fire department are like Samuel. However, her passion remains strong as she takes on a historic role as the department's first female deputy chief, second in command to Fire Chief John Alston. With her swearing in this month as deputy chief of administration, Samuel became the highest-ranking female officer in the service in more than 160 years.

There are 10 women in a department of more than 300 people, she said. There were only five when she arrived. One of her goals is to expose more women to the firefighting career and combat the stigma associated with 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 first, I’m not going to lie, is empowering,” she said. “And I know people are 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 budget administration, discipline, special projects, policy and facilities management, Alston said in a news release.

“Chief Samuel has been a tremendous resource and 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 areas of the department. She moved to the fire marshal’s office and worked as an acting fire investigation supervisor. Last year, she was promoted to deputy fire marshal.

But Samuel didn’t initially see herself in that 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 qualified women doing the job. Samuel said she’s seen firefighters her entire life in New Haven, and none of them were women.

It was difficult being a mother in such a demanding career, but Samuel believes there are aspects of motherhood that have helped her in her work.

“Women bring calm, in my opinion,” she said, adding, “Because I’m a mother, I have to be organized in what I do in my career, in my work.”

His career has also inspired his children to help people: one is a pharmacy technician, one is a surgical technician and the other hopes to serve in the fire, police or military.

“I think by doing this work, my kids saw that I was really dedicated to helping people,” Samuel said. “And this work is a real commitment. You have to have it in your heart. »

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