Donna Noble is a volunteer on not one, but two fire departments – all in the hopes of making her daughter proud.
Her only child, Jenny, was killed in a school bus crash outside Rimbey, Alta. in April 2008.
Jenny was 17 years old and had just purchased her graduation dress.
The night before her death, Jenny asked her mom to pull over on Highway 53 so she could snap a picture of a gorgeous sunset.
She was killed in the same spot less than 12 hours later.
“There had been a school bus accident,” Donna said.
“A gravel truck had hit the back of the school bus in a fog. Jenny was thrown and, from what I understand, died instantly.”
Jenny didn’t need to be on the bus but she liked school and was helping others.
“She had a brand new car but she would ride on the bus to help kids do their homework,” her mom said.
Her family was devastated. But they didn’t let their grief consume them.
Donna channelled her emotions in a positive way, committing herself 24/7 to volunteer firefighting.
“A month later, I went back on the fire trucks – in the belief that, I couldn’t help her, but maybe I can help somebody else,” she said.
“I could’ve sat and did nothing, but that’s not me. I wanted to find a positive in the trauma.”
During the day, Donna is on call with Ponoka’s East District Fire Department where she is the only female firefighter.
On nights and weekends, she switches over to Ponoka’s West District Fire Department.
The Noble farm is located near the line that separates the two jurisdictions.
Jenny is never far from her mom’s mind. She thinks of her every time her radio goes off.
“I keep one of her pictures in my bunker gear.
“This sits in my inside pocket,” Donna shared. “She’s my little guardian angel that comes with me every call. Every call.”
After Jenny’s death, collisions were challenging calls for her mom but she focused on those in need.
“My first fatal accident I did was the day after she would’ve turned 20. I was responsible for looking after the individual that survived that accident. Knowing that maybe I made his life a little easier, made that trauma a little easier, made it worthwhile.”
There are reminders of Jenny at both fire stations. Donna chose to donate her daughter’s stuffed animal collection.
“My daughter loved stuffed animals,” Donna said. “So we do carry, on our trucks, her stuffies. At one accident, there was a little two-year-old boy sitting on his mom’s lap. I went back to the truck, grabbed a stuffie and gave it to the little boy.”
Donna has taken training so that she’s able to help other first responders decompress after difficult calls. She’s also been tasked with consoling other victims of loss.
“I’m hoping that just me being there, having been on both sides of the fence – first responder and victim – it gives them the strength to know somebody cares.”
She feels a special bond with other parents.
“Every time I hear of a parent that’s lost a child, I go back to that day. You bet I do. And I think, ‘I understand. I can relate. I know that emptiness, that loneliness.'”
Now Donna’s passion is firefighting. It’s something she thinks Jenny would appreciate.
“I miss her. She was my only child and my pride and joy.
“But in eight years, I’ve realized that she’d be proud. I need to make her proud and I need to make myself proud.”
Donna wants to see more women volunteer to be firefighters, regardless of their size or age.
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