Meet city’s first and only female fire engine driver
Ann Nyathira
For a long time, the image of a firefighter is that of a well-built, strong, masculine and, almost certainly, a man.
But Jane Wambui has managed to extinguish that outdated narrative that you do not have to be a man to be a firefighter and a fire engine driver.
Today she is the first ever fire engine driver and a firefighter who has offered 13 years of her life to Nairobi fire services, a city of over four million people.
Since 2007 Wambui has handled all kinds of emergency situations: fire, floods, and road accidents and sometimes sick people who need to be rushed to hospital.
“Even though I am a firefighter I do all kinds of emergencies, I am a firefighter and an engine driver, but if we get an emergency call about a road accident I rush to the scene and try to save the situation to my level best,” she explains.
Although attitudes toward women in the firefighting profession have generally improved in Kenya and the world over, the field still has few and in other places no women at all. The occupation is still considered a man’s only job.
Wambui notes no matter how well trained you are, the first assignment is always difficult due to the pressure that comes with responding to an emergency.
Everyone is not only depending on you to save the situation, but also watching you and the decisions you make, which border between life and death.
“When I joined the team in 2007, after completing rigorous training, I had just quit my job as a nurse assistant, which involved helping the nurse in charge with taking records and dressing wounds.
That job did not require physical fitness like that of a firefighter. The first few days working here were very challenging,” she says.
Since she started working as a fire fighter, she has responded to more than 300 fire incidents. In a week, the firefighter responds to a minimum of three fire emergencies.
“Road accidents happen almost every day and I am called upon to embark on the rescue mission,” she says.
She, however, notes that firefighting isn’t for everyone. People who have fear for heights or confined spaces, who don’t function well in a crisis, or who in general, would rather not introduce elements of danger into their lives,” she cautions.
The most devastating time of her career was during the Sinai fire tragedy that left hundreds dead and loss of property worth millions.
She recalls the event as one of the most dangerous and overwhelming assignment. “The Sinai fire was particularly challenging. When we got there, the situation was terrible.
People had been burnt to death and those who survived were grotesque. Accessing the inferno was difficult due to overcrowding, there was literally nowhere to pass so we had to start with crowd management, which I felt wasted our time,” she recalls.
She advises people to always stay far away as possible whenever there is a fire outbreak to make it easy for the response team.
For Wambui, firefighting isn’t just a job, it is an exciting, ever-changing, highly rewarding occupation. She enjoys the warmth of camaraderie among the crew.
The challenge of bringing physical skills and mental abilities to play in what for others is an emergency, and the opportunity to provide critical, life-saving services in a moment of need gives her satisfaction.
