MOORPARK : Pressure Is On for Woman at Fire Station 42

During her first shift on the job, Firefighter Christine Saqui was jolted out of her bunk about 1 a.m. at Moorpark’s Fire Station 42, jumped on an engine and joined two other firefighters who rushed to put out a home fire.

Since then, the 25-year-old has been tested by more fires, car accidents and other mishaps.

This summer Saqui responded to a gang shooting with the rest of her team, and had to perform first-aid on one of the victims for several minutes while police attempted to secure the area.

Her station captain, Gary Young, said that Saqui probably saved the young man’s life.

But that’s what firefighters do. It’s nothing unusual, as a matter of fact it’s expected, according to Young.

Saqui, one of eight women who graduated from the Ventura County Fire Academy’s largest class of women firefighters in June, is in the middle of her first year of duty.

If she completes the year’s probation and passes the rigorous evaluations that occur throughout the first 12 months, she could receive permanent assignment to Moorpark’s Station 42, making her the city’s first female firefighter. There are 12 women firefighters now working for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Worried more about doing her job right, Saqui said she is unimpressed by the distinction. She has focused on her job performance just like the other rookie in the department, and her captain has the same priority.

“They have to depend on me and be certain that I can do the job,” Saqui said. “They’re just concerned that I can do the job. I don’t think they act any different because I’m a female firefighter.”

For more than a decade women have served as firefighters with the county Fire Department, but Moorpark has yet to have a woman assigned permanently to either of its two station houses, said Fire Department spokesman Joe Luna.