Colette Harmon: Fighting Fires in a Male-Dominated Field

Colette Harmon is an engineer at the Chestnut Fire Station who also works as a temporary provisional captain in a male-dominated field. 

Harmon, a 21-year veteran, initially started her career at the Gilroy Fire Department with another woman, but Harmon's one female companion hung up her boots and jacket five years ago.

"It's like having a bunch of brothers,” she said. “It was difficult the first five years because the other woman and myself were the first females ever hired by this station.”

Harmon's outsider status was compounded by the fact that she's originally from San Diego. 

“It was also challenging because a majority of the guys here are from Gilroy, so they were raised together while we came from the outside,” she said. “It was difficult but after I proved myself, I've been treated like one of the guys, which is how I want to be treated."

As an engineer, it's Harmon's job to drive and operate the fire engine, and as a temporary captain, a rank she was bumped up to after an administrative shuffle, she's responsible for the other firefighters, including their training, and takes command of the scene during a call. 

Harmon became a firefighter in 1990 after serving six years in the Navy working on high-tech F-14 flight simulators. Her Navy days were a secondary choice to being an oceanographer, a position she learned was near impossible to obtain.

“When I got out, I worked for [the manufacturer] of the F-14 flight simulators," she said. Great job, good money, but it wasn't challenging to me."

After leaving the Navy, Harmon returned to San Diego where her police officer and firefighter friends suggested she try out their careers.

"I knew I didn't want to be a police officer because they carry a gun, get shot at and not everybody likes them,” she said. “But being a firefighter appealed to me."

While researching the career, Harmon discovered that firefighters seemed to truly love their profession.

"Very rarely did you ever see anybody move on to another profession,” she says. “Most stayed there and retired there because it's just so rewarding."

Harmon says there is a misconception among the public that firefighters solely fight fires. Today’s firefighters, she explains, are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians and provide life-saving service on the spot.

"Nowadays people think we just fight fires and if we're not fighting fires we're just sitting in the station doing nothing, which is rather far from the truth,” she said. 

Harmon explains that when a call is made to 911, callers are always taken to a fire station first. Ninety-five percent of the time, a fire department will be on the scene before an ambulance.

"We arrive first, usually because of how the city runs their ambulances,” she says. “Here, there are three dedicated stations and only one ambulance dedicated to the City of Gilroy."

Gilroy’s firefighters also focus on fire prevention by conducting fire inspections of local businesses and by holding educational events at places like local elementary schools.

In addition to her positions at Chestnut, Harmon is an avid athlete who volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, which she plans to continue after she retires in a few years. 

While her job is demanding, Harmon says her work is what inspires her to help Gilroy's citizens.

"It's one of the few jobs where you have instant gratification in what you do," she said. "If you're doing CPR on someone who's pulse-less [and] you bring them back and they're alive, that's instant gratification."

As the only female firefighter in Gilroy, Harmon said she’d like to see more women join the profession. 

"I don't know if women don't think they can do it, or if they don't think it's the job for them, but it really is a great job," she said.

Harmon makes an effort to let young girls know that becoming a firefighter is a career that's within their reach.

"If you dream it and believe it, you can do it," she said. 

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