((PKG)) FEMALE FIRE CHIEF
((Banner: Putting Out Fires))
((Reporter: Maria Morton))
((Camera: David Gogokhia))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Locater: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania))
((Banner: In 2017, Linda Long became the first female Fire Battalion Chief in Philadelphia’s history))
((Captain Linda Long, Philadelphia Fire Battalion Chief))
When I was a teenager and I wanted to do it, my parents did not think it was a good idea. And they did not think I had a viable career path in EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and Fire, so they discouraged it. When I was little, I played a lot of sports, so I was used to being around boys and I didn’t have a problem with it. Some of the wives had problems. Some of the men had problems.
((NATS))
((Captain Linda Long, Philadelphia Fire Battalion Chief))
I was on the EMS side and a paramedic officer for 14 years. And now, I’ve been on this side for 14 years.
((NATS))
((Captain William Dixon, Philadelphia Fire Department))
I think the people that you meet, the people that you help, the places you go, and the incidents that you respond to. It’s a culmination of things that make this, I believe, the best job in the world. But I think the thing that stands out the most is the camaraderie that you have with your fellow firefighters. There is nothing else like it.
((NATS))
((Captain Linda Long, Philadelphia Fire Battalion Chief))
Being a chief, I actually miss being on the fire truck because you get to go everywhere as a group together. We get to put the fire out, in five minutes, ten minutes, an hour, but you always get to see the end result. The fire is out, all the people are out, and you got to finish the job.
((NATS))
