CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Jessica Calandra, a long-time volunteer for the Pine Hill Fire Department, has become the company's first female chief.
Calandra began volunteering in 2013 — hoping to pay forward the heroic acts of the first responders before her.
"When I was in high school, my grandma went into cardiac arrest, and I wanted to do for somebody else what somebody had done for me and my family," she said.
Calandra was quick to find a new passion.
"I joined simply to do the EMS, the more medical side of things, but I fell in love with the fire side," she said.
Over the years, she worked her way up the department ladder, taking on various roles within the company while looking up to her leaders.
Calandra told 7 News she often asked questions about fire chiefs such as, "They have so much experience and so much time in these departments — will I ever get there one day?"
Calandra is now able to answer her own question while making history as the first female chief for the Pine Hill Hose Company in its 97 years.
"Being any chief for any gender or any race, it's a big responsibility," she said. "That's what I look at it as. I'm not here to say, 'Oh wow, look what I accomplished.' I realize the big job that's in front of me."
Some of her goals include more training for the company's 27 members, seven of whom are women, and adding more volunteers to the company.
"We're dealing with more calls with the same amount of people," Calandra said. "If we can get more volunteers into the departments, it'll vastly help us and the communities that we serve."
The Pine Hill Department is home to more than one "Calandra" serving the Cheetowaga community. Jessica's mother serves as the department's President, Commissioner and EMS Captain — creating the perfect female duo.
"You have to find what you're passionate about," Calandra said. "If you really have your heart into something, it's not going to matter that you're the only female in the room."
