Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
When Mindy Gabriel was growing up on her family’s grain farm in Ashland, Ohio, it never occurred to her that she might one day be a firefighter.
She left the farm to attend The Ohio State University, and before she became her family’s first college graduate, she spent her four years as a member and eventual captain of the women’s varsity rowing team, a sport she had never tried prior to walking onto the team. This is where the first seeds of her future career as the sole female firefighter in the Upper Arlington Fire Department (UAFD) were sown.
Gabriel considers herself “a bit of an accidental firefighter” since she didn’t have any family members involved in firefighting. She was first exposed to the profession as part of her exercise science major at OSU.
“When I was at OSU, we fitness-tested the Columbus firefighters, and I found myself asking them all about their jobs,” says Gabriel.
When the opportunity came for her to take the fitness test herself, she passed on her first attempt and was hired immediately.
“Once I was hired, they sent me to fire school and emergency medical technician school at the State Fire Academy, and I was sure I had made a good choice,” she says. “I say to people that I chose to row because I was an athlete without a sport, and then I chose to be a firefighter because I was an athlete without a team.”
Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
The choice Gabriel made is not a traditional career path for most women, and being the only woman with the UAFD brings some special challenges. When she tells people what she does for a living, she usually gets the same reaction.
“They say I don’t look like a firefighter,” she says. “I always wonder what they expected a woman firefighter to look like.”
Firefighting is physically challenging for all firefighters, but Gabriel says it is especially so for women.
“It is very important to me that I can physically do the job my entire career. I work at it constantly, lifting weights and running. Women definitely have to work harder at this,” she says, crediting her background as an athlete as a reason she knows she’s up to the task.
Photo by Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
Gabriel also sees the lack of women in leadership positions within fire departments as a challenge for female firefighters seeking role models and mentors, so she works to be that person for others.
“They can do any job they want, but they must work very hard and do their homework. Shadowing and talking to firefighters and paramedics is essential to see if it is a good fit. Most firefighters have pretty similar type-A personalities,” Gabriel says. “It really helps girls to talk to women firefighters so they can visualize what that looks like. Breaking gender norms is huge.”
Firefighting is, of course, a difficult and rewarding profession regardless of gender, and Gabriel has experienced highs and lows throughout her career.
“When I am grocery shopping, my children always wonder why people are coming up to me and crying and hugging me,” she says. “Maybe I was there when their husband of 50 years died, or seeing me reminds them of a tragedy in their lives that I witnessed. It is both an awesome and a sad thing. We get a front row seat to humanity.”
In addition to working for the fire department, Gabriel lives in Upper Arlington with her husband, Adam, who is also a UA firefighter, and their three children: Porter (8), Dane (5) and Rose (3). She says they love living in UA because the people care so much about their city and its great parks, schools and services.
As members of the fire department, Mindy and Adam are proud to be able to give back to the community that gives them so much.
“(Firefighters) really get to help people in ways that show great respect and human kindness,” she says.
While the Gabriels are firefighters who are actual family, the UAFD functions as a family as well.
“Our job can be very stressful,” says Gabriel. “We need to be diligent to take care of one another too.”
The UAFD do this while out on calls and also back at the station and, as with most families, food brings them together. “Pizza Saturday” is a UAFD tradition, and the pizzas are made from scratch as a big group activity, yet another example of the teamwork that drew Gabriel to firefighting in the first place.
“It truly is the greatest job in the world, and the people I work with are some of the most talented and dedicated individuals I have ever met,” she says. “I am proud of what I have been able to be a part of so far, and I want to set a good example for my children that hard work and resilience pays off.”
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
