Dreams are funny things. They can be dashed over and over again
and remain just barely out of reach, but then, somehow, have a way
of coming true.
Dreams are funny things. They can be dashed over and over again and remain just barely out of reach, but then, somehow, have a way of coming true.
Hollister firefighter and world champion boxer Kelsey Jeffries, 29, knows better than most about chasing dreams, and that if you persevere long enough, you just might catch yours.
When she was young, Jeffries idolized firefighters. But it was a man’s profession and until about 10 years ago, when women began getting into police and fire work, she never thought much about becoming one.
“I admired what they did,” Jeffries said. “I admired who they were and what they stood for.”
Jeffries, a world-renowned boxer who recently became one of the few women to work as a paid-call firefighter for the city of Hollister’s fire department, is one round closer to her dream of becoming the first full-time female firefighter in Hollister.
It’s taken a lot of work and perseverance to get this far. When Jeffries first tried to get into the profession a decade ago, a fire captain in San Jose told her she had to have a college degree to even get her foot in the door. Uninformed about the truth at the time and unable to afford to college and work at the same time, her hopes of climbing aboard a big red truck were dashed.
So she took a job at Apple Computers doing data base maintenance until she was laid off during the dot-com bust.
Boxing, which is her No. 1 priority and first love, kept her going and provided a small source of income after she lost her job at Apple. Trying to get back into the fire world didn’t cross her mind until a friend and fellow female fighter who worked for the Fresno Fire Department encouraged her to throw her hat back in the ring.
So three years ago, Jeffries marched down to the Hollister Fire Department, got an application for the fire academy, went through the training and obtained her Emergency Medical Technician’s license – all in the hopes of being chosen as a paid-call firefighter.
“I was so excited,” she said. “I was at Hollister city every day, doing ride-alongs, getting to know the guys.”
But in early 2004 when it came time to test to be a paid-call employee – firefighters who are called in to assist the full-time firefighters – between the written and oral exams Jeffries came in number eight. They took the first six.
“I wouldn’t say it was because I was a girl. I was definitely qualified, but maybe I wasn’t as confident,” she said. “After working so hard I wanted to say ‘screw it.’ I didn’t even want to go near Hollister city.”
But she didn’t give up.
Later that year, she tested for the San Benito County Fire Department and was chosen to be a paid-call firefighter. While she enjoyed working for the county fire department and garnered an abundance of experience, it was the Hollister city department that called her name.
And one day in February of this year, the call she’d been waiting for for 10 years finally came.
“Hollister city called and said they’re doing new hiring, and you’re next on the list,” she said. “So if you want it, you’ve got it.”
In March, Jeffries tested once again for a paid-call position and got it.
And after 96 hours of mandatory training, Jeffries has spent the past month or so responding to pages from the department – some in the dead of night – putting on the gear, climbing up on that truck and doing what she’s trained to do.
And never once has she felt discriminated against because of her gender, she said.
“I can’t be happier,” Jeffries said. “They’re an unbelievable team, a great group of guys. And they gave me not one break. They treat me like I’m one of them.”
Even to the point where she sleeps in the same quarters as the men, cacophonous snoring and all, when pulling a 24-hour shift. Although she did ask what the other firefighters’ wives might think of a woman bunking with the guys, to which she was told, “They’ll get over it.”
While it can be difficult as a woman working in a man’s world, because there’s the desire to be treated like a lady while being treated as an equal, she said her male counterparts have adapted well and take her simply for what she is – a firefighter.
The fact that the 5-foot 5-inch, 120 pound world-renowned boxer is arguably in the best shape of anyone at the department doesn’t hurt, either.
“I’m not the one heavy breathing when we’re done, I can tell you that much,” she said.
Although the department recently promoted two paid-call firefighters to temporary full-time status, Jeffries has to put in a mandatory year of probation before she’s eligible to make that leap, according to Chief Bill Garringer.
But the tiny dreamer already has another dream in mind and is ready to chase it down, no matter how long it takes. While there have been at least two other female paid-call firefighters over the years, none have stuck around long enough to be eligible for a full-time position, Garringer said.
“My goal is to work for Hollister city and I would be honored to be the first woman working for that city,” Jeffries said. “But for now, this is enough for me. It’s an honor to be the only female working with all these wonderful firefighters. I’m one of them.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
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