When Kathy Ius entered the old fire hall at the corner of Royal Avenue and Eighth Street on June 11, 2001, she became the first woman to serve as a firefighter in New Westminster.
Now, a suppression captain and a training captain with New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services, Ius is getting set to retire in September.
“Sept. 30, is my last shift,” she said. “So I work that night shift, and then I'm officially retired as of the morning after.”
It’s an “incredibly surreal” realization for Ius, who became the first woman to work for the New West fire department.
“You have to remember, when I first applied to become a firefighter, it wasn't even an option or a thought a mere five years before. And then Vancouver hired its first female. I was well into my university studies, and I wanted to finish those off before I went about the process of applying and so that made me just a little bit older than the average age of an applicant,” she said. “I was over the moon just to get the job in the first place.”
Ius vividly recalls showing up for her first day on the job, wearing jeans and a baggy T-shirt because, back then, rookies weren’t issued new uniforms and were given hand-me-downs.
“It was my job to pour coffee to the crew of people I've never seen before in my life. And I was nervous beyond. My hand was shaking as I went to pour coffee,” she recalled. “And luckily for me, the battalion chief who was working that day just took me under his wing right away. It was absolutely phenomenal that he did that because I felt like I'd entered another universe.”
With retirement being mandatory for suppression firefighters at the age of 60 and Ius set to reach that milestone in 2023, retirement beckons.
“It’s surreal,” she said. “I've been doing this job in New West for 22 years. But, really, I've been in the industry for 27, 28 years, in one capacity or another, from working at the JI (Justice Institute) as a technician, to being paid on-call in Coquitlam, to eventually getting my full-time career in New West.”
In 2001, Ius was one of three firefighters hired by the local fire department – out of about 650 applicants.
“It's an interesting career, because you hit milestones at different years in your career,” she said. “Obviously, the first and biggest was just getting hired in impossible times really. When I say impossible, it was just incredibly difficult to get on period, whether you are male or female; there were literally thousands of applicants, and departments were afforded the ability to be very, very picky in who they chose ultimately. So even though there were bars that you had to meet in order to apply, those bars were raised even higher because there were so many applicants. So that was the first major accomplishment.”
Ius said the next milestone came when she was able to drive the fire trucks.
“I know it sounds so goofy to say that, but when you're responsible for a big piece of apparatus and the crew inside it, it's quite the milestone to reach,” she explained.
Becoming an instructor – and teaching first aid to some of the more senior staff in the department – was a “mind-boggling” experience for Ius.
Other career highlights included working with the firefighters’ union and the New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society and becoming the first woman in the department to reach the rank of officer, a milestone she reached in 2015.
“I think the pinnacle of all that those accomplishments was becoming a company officer, as a captain on the truck, who's in charge of our crew, and making decisions at major incidents,” she said.
While she’s attended many fires through the years, Ius said her first structure fire will always stand out. Even though it wasn’t the most significant fire she ever attended, Ius said crews did a phenomenal job at minimizing damage to the house fire in Queensborough.
“It's that first second that you arrive on scene and you see smoke and fire and you're like, ‘OK, I've got an actual working situation here that I need to take charge of.’ That first time is quite something,” she said. “Once you get that out of your system, it's like everything else flows.”
Ius said one of the high points of her career has been the privilege of working with the “phenomenal” crews in New Westminster. A low point was dealing with some of the internal challenges within the department.
“It did have some impact on our people, both personally and emotionally. But we soldiered through a lot of that, and we came out on the better side of things,” she said. “Things couldn't really be any better now.”
Through her years with the department, Ius and her colleagues have attended calls from fires to motor vehicle accidents, including traumatic incidents that result in fatalities.
Self-care such as taking up yoga, spending time outdoors, and getting support from family and friends — and seeking assistance to help her through some of the tougher times — have helped her deal with some of those aspects of the job.
Blazing a trail
Ius, whose father was a firefighter, always knew she wanted to be a firefighter. Once hired in New West, she said she worked hard to show her coworkers that she had what it took to do the job.
“I think it's like anything; you prove yourself and you work hard,” she said. “I had to trust in my own skill sets.”
During her years with the fire department, Ius has witnessed a shift in the way women are viewed when they’re hired.
“What I see is an immediate acceptance. I know that that sounds kind of trite to say, but it's an acceptance that ‘You got here, you're with us, you're an equal.’ And that wasn't necessarily a feeling that you got immediately when I was hired back in 2001,” she noted. “It was quite the opposite in a way with some people — not every person that was on the job then, but with some people — the likelihood that I might fail was higher than the likelihood I might succeed, whereas now, the likelihood is that you will succeed rather than fail.”
Today, Ius is one of eight women working for New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services. Six work in suppression (the folks working on front lines and responding to calls) and two work in fire prevention.
While the number of women who are becoming firefighters is “decidedly better” than it used to be, Ius believes fire departments still have a ways to go.
“I think there's work to be done in that area. It's my hope that post-retirement, I can do some work in that regard, in terms of like education, outreach, that kind of thing,” she added. “Our job has changed, and I think, slowly but surely, the public is starting to realize that our job isn't the Hollywood version that you see on TV. I mean, there's so many dimensions and areas of involvement in this particular career that it actually behooves us all to make sure that we can diversify our workplace to accommodate that, but also to represent the community in a greater way.”
As Ius’s career with New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services nears the finish line, she’s regularly reminded of the “lasts” on the job – the last recruits she’ll help train, the last time she’ll be involved in hosting a camp for teens considering a career in firefighting, the last time she’ll take part in certain calls and events with her colleagues.
“It's bittersweet,” she said. “I'm going to so miss working with the crews in the way that I have had the ability to work with them over the years. That's going to be probably the hardest component; I'm definitely going to miss that.”
Creating a roadmap
Acting fire Chief Erin Williams said Ius has contributed at almost every level of the organization throughout her career with New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services.
“She is truly someone who embraced her profession and made the best out of it, and at the same time made our department a better place to work,” he said. “During her career, Kathy worked in fire Suppression, fire prevention and public education, fire training, as well as serving on the union executive for many years.”
Williams acknowledged Ius’s contributions in contributing to a more diverse fire department.
“Through Kathy’s enthusiasm, vision and hard work, she helped create a roadmap for future firefighters who come from diverse backgrounds,” he said in a statement to the Record. “Her contributions to initiatives like Camp Ignite and areas of community outreach have provided opportunities for many people to experience a career in firefighting that they might not otherwise have had.”
Williams believes Ius’s contributions have helped spark an increase interest in firefighting among women.
“As a direct result of Kathy’s contributions, the fire service now sees many more applications for employment from female firefighters and that number continues to grow every year,” he said. “We wish Kathy a well-deserved long and healthy retirement and hope she will still continue her work in supporting female firefighters navigate the roadmap she helped create.”
With Record files
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
Email [email protected]
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