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Cape Town’s Bravest: Mother and firefighter Coleen Johnson on trailblazing her way in a male-dominated field

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Coleen, "soaked to the bone", she said, describing her appearance right after fighting in the recent fires that engulfed Betty's Bay.
Coleen, "soaked to the bone", she said, describing her appearance right after fighting in the recent fires that engulfed Betty's Bay.

On Sunday evening, as I drove home, I saw the mountain bright and sparkly in my rear-view mirror. But this time, it wasn’t the twinkling white lights of hikers making their way up and down Lion’s Head. No. It was a warm light – a burning light.

By Monday morning, the fires have been contained, leaving only a disappearing cloud of grey smoke over the mountain and the smell of what had been in the air. When I ask Coleen if she’d heard about it, she responds, “Yes, shame, all my friends are fighting…”

She lets out a deep sigh and I can feel a similar sense of powerlessness. “It’s awful.”

Coleen says she no longer works for the City of Cape Town after relocating to Pringle Bay two years ago. “We don’t have a full-time fire department here. We’ve got a volunteer firestation in Pringle Bay so I’m a member of that. I’m a volunteer firefighter here now.”

Coleen moved to Cape Town when she was 8 years old and went to an all-girls school. But, she explains, “I’ve never been a girly-girl.” Jumping out of the line of fire was always more her thing and she calls her job "the best in the world”.

“I knew from about the age of 7 that I wanted to become a firefighter. It wasn’t a firefighter specifically – I wanted to be a rescuer. When I was in matric, it was a bit of a tossup between going to the fire department or going the paramedic route or going into rescue.

"But at the time, rescue didn’t accept females and the fire department was still veeery much on the borderline, you know, with accepting females. So I actually went and did my basic ambulance course and I worked there for a year, then I got into the fire department from there.

“I was one of the first female firefighters in Cape Town,” she continues. “I think when I joined there were only three of us at Milnerton Fire and probably only about 20 in the whole of Cape Town. So it was still quite new when I joined.”

We speak about the consequences of being new, but different – in an industry dominated by men.

“Did you get any… hostility?”

“A little.”

Coleen Johnson

(From left) Andrew Stott, Coleen Johnson and Jacques Loubscher worked together on shift at Milnerton fire station. They're still friends.


Also read: WATCH: These women are #Firefightingsexism one fire picture at a time

Doing what you love

She tells me two stories, one about her supervisor, the other of her Firefighter One exam.

“I went on my Firefighter One course and I scored 100%. And it was the first time that had ever happened. I was acknowledged by someone in a top position and he said, you know, this is quite a momentous thing and we’re going to be watching her… But then I went back to the fire station and my abilities were still being questioned.”

She doesn't go into too much detail but explains what it must have been like to be stuck in a particular mindset.

“It was that immediate, oh because you’re female, you don’t know anything or you’re not capable. 

“You’re not enough.”

But now, while it did take some fighting, she says in their small town of Pringle Bay, she is after all lined up to be the next station commander.

And it was worth the fight.

Loving what you do

“I’m not saying there weren’t good times – there were good times. And as people learn to know you and work with you and love you, you know, it changes,” she says.

“It was fun. Like that’s just what I remember. It was a lot of fun going out and fighting the fires with the guys. I mean, it was obviously hard work but we had a lot of fun out there. It wasn’t all serious and how people perhaps think firefighting may be.”

She shares more stories with me – there was a reference to roasted chickens with a side order of misogyny – but ultimately she says it was good fun.

“I look back on those days and I miss it – I really, really miss it. And I still have loads and loads and loads of friends there. Guys that I’ve worked with that I’m still good friends with,” she jokes.

I ask if she was ever scared? Anxious?

“No, I can’t say I was. When you’re with a team of 7 guys, and often more, you’ve got so many people watching your back. And I must say my station commander at the time was very good and I always felt protected. Obviously, it’s dangerous in its inherent nature, but I knew my station was never going to place me in a situation that was going to leave me trapped in a building.”

(From left) L Powrie, C Johnson, M Walklett, J Con

(From left) L Powrie, C Johnson, M Walklett, J Connolly, S Evans and JC Pollet. Coleen describes JC as her "best guy friend". They joined the service together after working side by side at the ambulance base.

We move on, and Coleen is getting lost in everything she loves about being a firefighter – even the element itself ignites something in her.

“If you ever get that close,” she says, “You realise how beautiful it is, as much as it can be scary and destructive. The flames, the embers, there’s something lovely about it at the same time.”

Bringing herself back, she laughs, “Best job in the world!”

Coleen Johnson
Coleen, "soaked to the bone", right after fighting in the recent fires that engulfed Betty's Bay.

Also read: How the 11-year-old Meghan Markle fought the patriarchy

To all the little girls out there with dreams so big you feel uncomfortable telling small-minded people...

Coleen says things eventually got better. They became somewhat “comfortable”. But oftentimes when things start to feel comfortable, there isn’t much room for growth. It was a matter of leaving the life she loved, but for something better. And she wasn’t doing it alone.

“I’ve got two girls. Anna is 8 and Isla is 1. Anna’s my sensitive child. She definitely respects and looks up, and I think, is very proud of me and what I do. But at the same time I think it makes her a bit anxious because for her the thought of me going out and putting myself in danger scares her a little.”

Anna with firefighter Christoper Woolstencroft

Anna with firefighter Christopher Woolstencroft. "We worked together at Roeland Street Fire," said Coleen, "And he is an absolute legend!"

Coleen says Anna’s taken some interest in becoming a doctor like her paramedic dad.

“Isla, I think, is a little too small to pass comments,” she said, “But my Isla is going to be my little firefighter one day. I think she’s ready for the world. She’s completely gung-ho,” she jokes.

Although Coleen absolutely loves fighting fires, I ask her if Isla were to really follow that same path, if she’d be okay with it – you know, motherly instincts and all.

“Absolutely,” she answers, without hesitation. “I know it comes with a sense of worry but I also know the happiness that it brings doing something that you love. And that’s what you want for your kids – you want them to be happy.”

Her advice to a little girl – or boy – with big dreams? “Don’t let anybody stand in your way. If somebody laughs at you turn around and say I’m doing it anyway. There’s nothing greater than living your dream. There’s nothing that makes you happier than living your dream.

“For me it was the best time of my life and it still is. I still love what I do. They say if you do what you love then you’ll never work a day in your life. So follow that and don’t let people’s opinions or perceptions about you stop you from doing that.”

By now the smoke over the mountain has cleared and before we say goodbye I ask my final, burning question, “So the girls, they’re going to save the world like mommy and daddy then?”

“Like mommy and daddy,” she affirms, gleefully – proudly.

coleen johnson and family

Coleen with her husband and their two gorgeous girls.

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