She’s a trailblazer in Regina and an inspiration for female firefighters across the province and country, and after a 27-year career as the Regina Fire & Protective Services first-ever female firefighter, Marianne Boychuk is ready to hang up her jacket.
“I had quite a moment and I kind of had to breathe my way through it because I wear this uniform with pride for 27 and a half years and now, I will not be wearing it again,” said Boychuk.
Growing up, Boychuk noticed that nursing and teaching careers were common and respectable for women. But she knew that path wasn’t for her as she calls herself an adrenaline junkie.
“I played sports, and I ran with the boys, that sort of thing,” she said. “I was kind of considered a tomboy growing up, so I knew I wanted to do something very active.”
The idea of becoming a firefighter grew after Boychuk’s apartment burned down in Humboldt, Sask., as she saw the guys working on containing the fire. Seeing how the community came together to help the firefighters and the adrenaline she felt, she knew that is what she wanted to pursue but her passion was not recognized by all.
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“I thought … I’ll join the volunteer fire department and all the guys said they would quit,” she said. “So, the fire chief at the time … said, ‘Well, then you can all quit, because we got to recognize that women can be firefighters’.”
As years went on, she described it as an “exciting ride” but with a lot of challenges.
“Challenges and things give us gifts greater than the trouble they caused. It’s made me become the person that I am,” said Boychuk.
“In these underrepresented occupations, it’s important that people have to blaze that trail so that other people can follow after.”
Boychuk said she couldn’t have done the job without the support and guidance from her mentors; Grant Nicurity, Angela Prawzick, Saskatoon retired firefighter Deb Davies, Chad Walbaum and Glenn Wagner.
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