Last month, Cleburne, Texas firefighter Stephanie Pribble became the first female firefighter hired in Cleburne Fire Department’s history dating back to 1881.

CLEBURNE, Texas – Several women have applied to fight fires in an east Texas community between 1881 and 2016. But, until this year, none made the cut. That all changed last month when Stephanie Pribble joined the ranks as one of four new firefighters – becoming the first female firefighter in the department’s 135-year history.

For Pribble, becoming a firefighter in Cleburne, Texas – just about 45 minutes from Fort Worth – was a dream long held, a dream deferred and a dream worth the effort, she said.

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Pribble, 27, said her interest in fire fighting came after dalliances with other career ideas.

“When I was a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist, wanted to know where all the fish were,” Pribble said. “I’m a Navy brat through my dad and had dreams when I was a kid of following him into the military but didn’t end up doing that. I thought the Coast Guard would be a good way to get into marine biology, which I thought would be a good way to let my dad know where all the good fishing spots were.”

An emergency necessitating a ride in an ambulance piqued her interest in firefighters and paramedics.

“They were nice and helpful and afterwards I went back to meet the crew and thank them,” Pribble said.

Pribble recognized several of the firefighters who, a few years earlier, had been ahead of her in school and she began visiting the department more often.

Already interested in photography, Pribble began helping the department out by photographing their training sessions.

“I was riding to training one night and the chief asked me what was I doing with the rest of my life,” she said. “I was currently working two jobs and he said an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class was starting soon and wanted to know if I was interested. I said, ‘Heck yeah! What’s an EMT?’ and got signed up the following week.”

Shortly after graduation from her EMT program, she relocated to Texas in 2009.

Through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician’s reciprocity agreement, Pribble was able to attain Texas EMT certification, but the process took several months.

While waiting, she found work as a fire dispatcher at the Johnson County Emergency Services District No. 1’s dispatch center, a position she held for six years. The decision to become a career firefighter didn’t manifest until she went on a ride out with local firefighters.

“They wanted us to ride out with the firefighters to get a better idea of what they do and learn more about how we as dispatchers could better accommodate the departments and help them out,” Pribble said. “What impressed me was how dedicated the firefighters are. They don’t just respond to calls and do their jobs. They do that, but there’s so much behind the scenes stuff that the public never hears about. Going out of their way to help people who have been in an accident, lost their home in a fire, mentoring children, spending time with school kids playing video games and eating pizza with them.”

On the job

Pribble first applied to CFD in 2013, passed the written test and was invited back to take the physical. The physical proved to be the sticking point and something Pribble had to train for and retake before passing.

“You look at Stephanie and it’s inspiring,” said Randal Goodwin, a former volunteer firefighter and friend of Pribble’s. “You look at how hard she worked to achieve her dream and did that while working a full-time job, going through the fire academy and paramedic school not to mention being a wife and mom.”

Pribble downplays her status as the department’s first female and takes it in stride.

“I worked hard to get here and every decision I’ve made the past three years helped put me into position to get here,” she said. “But, I want to be recognized as a Cleburne firefighter rather than their first female firefighter.”

Cleburne Fire Chief Clint Ishmael agreed.

“Stephanie didn’t apply here to blaze a trail,” Ishmael said. “She applied because she really wanted to be a firefighter. And she’s been doing very well her first month, all four of our new recruits have.

With her first month on the job behind her, Pribble called her time as a firefighter so far pretty awesome.

“The crews I’m working with have been great, open minded and willing to teach me and the other new recruits,” Pribble said. “People ask me about the being a girl thing all the time, and I tell them I want to be pushed as hard and go through and do everything everyone else is doing because that’s what it takes to be good and get better.”

Pribble completed paramedic school about two weeks ago then took the national registry exam on Monday and passed. She also began 24-hour shifts at Cleburne Fire Department the same week and her training officer is now prepping her to begin running ambulance calls for the department soon.

“I’ve had several patient encounters so far, which is something I really like,” Pribble said. “We had a call on one little old lady who was having trouble breathing who asked me if I was the first female firefighter at CFD. I told her ‘yes, ma’am’ and she thought I was the sweetest thing since Oreo cookies and I got a kick out of that.”

Smith writes for the Cleburne, Texas Times-Review.