Shanieke McKoy finds purpose as a firefighter

When she was younger, Shanieke McKoy dreamt of turning up at work in her white scrubs or nurse's uniform, but today, she proudly wears the badge of a firefighter.

"Growing up and being around my mother, I always saw her taking care of people. So that caring and nurturing for other persons, I was driven by that. I always wanted to become a nurse, but because I didn't get all of my subjects, I was not able to. I was always dreaming of going to Kingston School of Nursing, but without the qualifications, I would not be able to get in, and I did kind of feel a way," McKoy told THE STAR.

After high school, she joined the National Youth Service, which placed her in a pharmacy, initially for six months. She was kept on as a clerk, but the turning point came when she started noticing the firefighters at the Jamaica Fire Brigade's head office which was located nearby.

"I would normally ask them if any recruiting was going on. I didn't really want to [join], but I realised that I needed more security for me and my daughter in terms of finances," she said. She applied to the brigade, and the day she got 'the call' changed everything.

"It was like a dream come true for me. I went on training for three months, and when I came up, I was assigned to the Waterford Fire Station [in 2015]," McKoy said. She admitted that she questioned God if she could manage.

"But when I was in training school, I brought a picture with me and my daughter, and that was my motivation. The training was rigorous, but when I looked at the picture, I said, 'God, I don't have anything to go back home to because I had resigned, and I have my daughter to take care of.' That pushed me to say, 'Look here, even if mi foot a pop off, I'm going to push through,'" she said. Walking into the field wasn't easy, but McKoy was determined to prove herself.

"Because you being that one female and you have so many men around you, it's like everything that they are doing, you have to try and keep up. Make sure you are lifting your weight like them, because if they are drawing the hose, I have to be able to assist. But it has been good so far. We work as a team, we look out for each other. And there are days when you have ups and downs, but the job itself is manageable," she said. McKoy said that the job has been a saving grace financially, but she is also well respected.

"When we go out there, people respect us and look out for us because they know I am a firefighter. Even in my community, they show me a lot of love and support," she said. When the pandemic hit, she was pregnant with her second daughter but still working.

"I didn't get to go on the truck because I was pregnant. I did mostly duty room, the head of the station where all the information would be logged," she explained.

"During that time I really missed the truck. If a call came in and I saw the truck driving out and I'm sitting there pregnant and saying, 'God, I should be going out on the truck,' I couldn't wait to have my baby to go back." In nearly a decade on the job, certain moments have stayed with her. On one call, a woman had fallen off a bed.

"They wanted us to assist in taking her off the floor, so the brigade truck responded with the ambulance, and we had to get a comforter and put her in, in order to put her on the bed," she said. "It was very struggling to get her off the ground, but we did get her back on the bed. Her husband was there, and just seeing the smile on her face after we assisted her was really heartwarming. I got her number, and I would normally call her and check up on her, and she is always so grateful."

But it's not all heartwarming moments. Seeing families lose everything in house fires is tough.

"I have to just hold up a face while I'm out there on the operation and just work as efficiently as possible with my team to help them. Sometimes even if it's a hug," she said, noting that there are other mental hurdles.

"To know that you leave your family at home and are going out there to risk your life just to save other people's lives can take a toll, but we just have to brave up and put on the armour."

McKoy still advises that if you want to serve in the brigade you should still go for it.

"My advice is if it's God's will and your intention to join, do it. Just know what you are signing up for, you just have to be confident in what you want," she said, adding that while nursing is still on the books, "for now i'm putting out fires".