All it took was a ladder. On her first day at the Winlaw Fire Department, Stephanie Whitney put on her gear and was taught how to climb. By the time she returned to the ground, she was hooked.
"I went home and was like, this is for me," she says. "It was so thrilling to learn how to climb a ladder properly and carry an axe the right way. It can be really exciting."
That was 12 years ago. Other volunteers have come and gone in the interim, but Whitney remains a firefighting nerd. Ask her about driving a fire engine and she starts giggling as though she's been given the keys to a Ferrari. "It's awesome," she says.
Whitney was made Winlaw's fire chief last month, which also makes her the first female chief in the history of the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
Although she takes pride in the promotion, she's also a little embarrassed no women have come before her.
"It means I have a voice to promote the younger generation of women to come and try stuff," she says. "It's also a little disappointing that it's 2017 and I'm the first one."
The daughter of two retired teachers, Whitney was travelling from Squamish when she stopped to visit a friend in Winlaw. The community made an impression on her, and she ended up settling down.
She'd loved firefighters as a child, but the job hadn't interested her as a career. A flyer calling for firefighter volunteers caught her eye, though, and she decided to give it a try.
When Whitney joined the department she was an anomaly, but she wasn't alone.
"It was definitely an old-boys club," she says. "There was a few female members but they didn't really stay too long. It was really transient.
"No one ever pushed anyone out but you get the feeling that you're not quite one of the boys."
The 44-year-old runs an excavating business called Dragonfly Contracting. It's the four hours a week she spends at the station, however, that give Whitney purpose.
She still remembers her first call. A trailer caught fire near the hall, and Whitney was put on the hose crew.
"I'd never seen a fire that big before," she says. "Then I think we all went out to dinner because we were exhausted and starving."
The Winlaw department gets 20 to 30 calls a year, according to Whitney. They currently have 18 members — four of whom are women — and membership ranges in age from 16 to over 60.
Volunteers show up once a week to learn the equipment and necessary skills, which Whitney takes special pleasure in organizing.
"Seeing people walk away with more knowledge more skills and smiling, having fun with it, like it's not all push-ups and boring text book stuff," she says, adding there's no push ups.
"There should be," she jokes.
She also enjoys dispelling misconceptions about being a firefighter. Carrying people, for example isn't as easy as actors make it look.
"They are a lot heavier than you think," says Whitney. "You can't just whip them over your shoulder like in the movies. It's usually four or five people on bumpy terrain communicating about how precious this cargo is. Can't drop them, can't slip, stop, everyone stop, look at your footing, carry on. You really have to be a good communicator."
She doesn't think it will be long before more women are barking out orders to other volunteers. Last week Whitney attended a regional meeting and came out of it believing at least two more women will be promoted to chief within the year.
"Things have changed," she says. "The younger generation is so open and accepting of everything. It's great."