“You can't help but love what you do as a firefighter. I can't help but love what I do,” said Shelly Carter, the new Assistant Fire Chief of the Hamden Fire Department.

Carter and New Haven Assistant Fire Chief Shakira Samuel have reached heights that no Black woman firefighter in New England has ever met - until now.

“I was the first Black female fire chief in all of New England states. And I said, you know, I have to make sure that someone else gets to hold the position,” Carter said.

She was first named Fire Chief in December 2022 for the Southbury Training School Fire Department, which falls under the state’s Department of Developmental Services. It was then that she became the first Black female chief in New England.

She joined the Hamden Fire Department as assistant chief earlier this year, and Samuel was sworn in as assistant fire chief in New Haven at the beginning of June. Both are the first Black women chiefs in their respective departments, and Samuel is now the second Black female fire chief in New England.

“I'd love to pass the baton. And I was waiting. I was waiting and looking and hoping, and when I heard and found out that she is stepping up to master the craft that she has created over the last 22 years of her career, I'm almost emotional,” said Carter of Samuel.

The two share a special bond.

“Chief Carter is amazing. She's one of my mentors. She's just great,” said Samuel. “You're amazing, you're a trailblazer. Thank you.”

Samuel shared that Carter helped guide her through what to expect as she aspired to become assistant chief. Now, Samuel says their positions will speak volumes.

“For me, I feel like we're opening doors, we're gaining momentum,” Samuel said.

They share a lot of similarities in their careers. Both thought firefighting was a career for men, but men inspired both of them to join. A male family member shared with Samuel all the names of women in the New Haven Fire Department, while Carter says she was challenged to join in Hartford.

She met firefighters one day while taking her child for a walk. They said she should apply for the department. She then shared the story with someone she knew.

“And the person said, ‘you'd never pass a test anyway.’ And I was like, ‘Excuse me?’ And that's literally it. It was a dare,” Carter said.

And both went on to serve the communities where they are from: Carter in Hartford, Samuel in New Haven.

“New Haven keeps me rooted. New Haven keeps me grounded,” Samuel said. “I see the people that I know going into the grocery stores. They recognize me. I recognize them. It's that relationship that I have that’s what keeps me here, and that’s what encourages me to progress.”

They’re setting examples of how women can excel in fire service.

“Pulling the hose, saving a life, delivering a baby. We're with families in the most joyous and tragic of times,” Samuel said. “The end of the day, after the call, whether it be good or bad, the family that we have together, that's what I love so much.”

It’s a field that’s 96% male, according to Carter, who adds that although there are lots of black female firefighters, they only account for a fraction of a percentage nationwide.

And as she was moving through her career, she says she never thought she’d become a chief.

“Coming up through the ranks in the Hartford Fire Department, there wasn't a lot of encouragement to tell me that, hey, maybe you should look into this particular training or this particular thing or this particular job, so that one day maybe you could become a fire chief,” Carter said. “I never thought that I would become a fire chief, like that was really for guys.”

Carter created Girls’ Future Firefighters Camp in 2015 to help inspire young women to be first responders. In June, the camp will focus on EMS careers. It’s the type of networking they say is needed for future female firefighters and those on the job today.

“So, my goal at this point is to make sure she's good,” said Carter of Samuel. “The other female fire chiefs that are my mentors in the state of Connecticut, I reach out to them I gain from them, that's how we’re supposed to do it,” Carter said.

She says her goal now is to recruit women to the Hamden Fire Department, where there are currently no women on staff.

“The firefighters, they operationally, and with fire prevention, our fire marshal's office, they have been phenomenal. And just making sure that the citizens of Hamden are great, my only problem is that there's no women on the department,” Carter said.

Her goal is to raise visibility of female firefighters across the area.

“So that there's folks in Hamden that say, ‘Hey, there's ladies, I would like to be a part of that organization,’’’ Carter said.

And while they have a unique experience being among few female fire chiefs in the state, their bond is even closer as they lead the way for women and women of color.