'It's the best job in the world': Montreal's first female firefighter retires

The last two months for Montreal's first female firefighter as she prepared to retire were far from easy.

For Joane Simard, 60, being a firefighter is not only her career, but her passion too. After 26 years of service, her enthusiasm has yet to wane.

"It's the most beautiful profession in the world," Simard said.

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Donning her yellow firefighter gear, Simard hung up her helmet at Station Five on Ontario Street for the last time on Thursday. It was a tearful goodbye, and a ceremony followed to commemorate Simard's years of service.

"It's been about two months that it has been very emotional," Simard said, her eyes watering.

"There were a lot of firefighters who called me say they were happy to work with me during my career."

A career of firsts

In 1989, Simard dived headfirst into a field dominated by men because a man in her own life inspired her.

"My husband was a firefighter in Longueuil and I used to tag along and I loved it," Simard said.

When they moved to Saint-Amable, she began training as a firefighter and immediately applied to work at the same fire department as her husband. She was even immortalized in a Céline Dion music video for her work.

She worked hard, but she said female firefighters have to be tough because of discrimination.

"It was hard," Simard said.

As she moved up the ranks and became a lieutenant, Simard was told she would face hostility from her male colleagues and that they wouldn't listen to her.

But it didn't shake Simard or her leadership.

"The reality was when we arrived at a fire I would give orders and they listened," she said.

'You can't be what you can't see'

There are 67 fire stations across the Island of Montreal and over 2,400 firefighters, but only 31 of them are women. In Canada, about 600 of the 22,000 firefighters are women.

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Louise Hine-Schmidt, the acting lieutenant for the fire department in the City of Ottawa, said more women would apply to the field if they knew being a firefighter wasn't out of reach.

"Women don't always know this is a career that they can choose," Hine-Schmidt said. "There is not a lot of women doing it and as the saying goes 'you can't be what you can't see.'"

There are challenges, but Simard urges more women to follow in her footsteps.

"You have to be solid but it's the best job in the world," Simard said.