Page 18 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_January2025

MEMBER PROFILE

‘I think we’ve overcome barriers’

- Marie Schaefer – Acting Platoon Chief CFD

PHOTOS BY BRIAN RODNICK
A twist of fate and a slippery “It was a long delay before the ambulance “And I liked helping people, so I thought
road were all that were required arrived and the firefighters let me wait in I would give it a whirl and started taking
to steer Marie Schaefer on to an their truck with an ice pack on my head. I courses in university to see if I would like
amazing career path that at the asked if there were many female firefighters it.”
time, very few women would even in the fire service. It just sparked my interest These demanding courses, which included
have considered. and one of the firefighters said I should try high angle rescue and ice water rescue
What began as a potential tragedy following out and that it was very rewarding job.” courses, solidified her craving for a
a head-on crash on a snowy Christmas Eve That conversation planted a seed in her physically challenging career and steered
with her older brother behind the wheel, mind which took root while studying her towards becoming a firefighter, much
turned into an inspirational moment kinesiology at university where she also to some initial hesitation from her parents
for the Kitchener native who became played varsity hockey for four years. who have long since embraced their
Cambridge Fire Department’s first female Growing up in a ‘sporty family’, Marie says daughter’s decision.
acting platoon chief in 2022. she thrived when it came to sports and “We now have a lot of firefighters in the
“I hit my head, but we were all fine,” says physical challenges. family,” laughs Marie, who has shared her
Marie, referring to both drivers in the crash “I always wanted a job that was physical story at a Women Take Charge Breakfast
which happened when she was a young and would challenge me, and wasn’t going Event hosted by the Chamber at Langdon
teen. to be the same every day,” she says. Hall.

18 Winter 2025 www.cambridgechamber.com