Nightingales heed a different calling

A registered nurse and a medical technologist in search of better paying jobs found themselves joining the Bureau of Fire Department in Cebu and have not looked back since.

Ave Mae Deloria, a 23-year-old nurse from Zamboangita, Negros Oriental and  40-year-old medical technologist Marshallene Abellana became firefighters out of necessity and have held their own in a field usually dominated by men.

Deloria worked as a volunteer nurse in a private hospital in Dumaguete City for one year before she moved to Cebu City and underwent pre-training as a firefighter last March 2.

She said she was dissatisfied with the pay and choose to become a firefighter.

“Rescuing lives, is also something in line with nursing because we both save lives. I came to realize that I need to find a more stable job,” she said.

Deloria said her uncles who were firefighters who  only met her father recently inspired her to become a firefighter despite  her small height.

Deloria passed the 15-day test  before moving to Cebu for the pre-training program.

Being the youngest of three siblings, Deloria said she wanted to be a firefighter so she can also make a better life for herself and her family. “What’s important for me is what I can do for my parents,” she said.

HOMESICK

She admitted that she got homesick and received a text message from her mother. “If you can’t endure the training just go home. You can go back to being a volunteer nurse and find another job,” it read.

“I talked to God, I prayed, asking Him to strengthen me all the more, because I wanted to finish what I have started. I can do this,” she said.

Deloria  said she was one of three women enrolled in the BFP’s pre-training last March.

“I am very proud that I’m one of them. Seeing the boys doing the activities, it became my determination to push through the limits. No pain, no glory,” she said.

Like Deloria, Abellana has three siblings. She chose to become a firefighter after she graduated from her course because of the influence of her father, a former firefighter.

She started as a non-uniformed personnel of the BFP in 1996 and it was only 13 years after  that she decided to train and be a uniformed personnel.

“I wasn’t interested in training. Once you go to the Fire National Training Institute in Laguna, you undergo four months of training. In fact, now it’s six months basic training,” Abellana  said.

Despite the hardships, Abellana said she finds the job interesting.

Abellana had to deal with her fear of water and climb buildings during trainings.

“I conquered my fears. We were taught how to rescue victims from dark caves,” she said. Even if some of them are assigned in the office, Abellana said they are ready to join firefighters in the field.

Abellana works at the fire prevention section as a collecting coordinator who works on the reports to be submitted by the fire marshal to their regional office.

“It’s inspiring. You can help people even if you’re in the office,” she said.