“The members here at Belleville Fire, both the urban and rural, for being someone that came from out of town and not actually having come through the ranks in this department, were so welcoming. And it truly was one of the most challenging and difficult decisions of my career.”

Advancing women in firefighting has been one of Belair’s goals since she began firefighting in the 1980s and it is one of the reasons she accepted the position in Kingston.

She says the visibility of her role in a larger centre will allow her even more opportunity to promote the career for women.

Belair says Camp Molly, a firefighting camp for young women she began several years ago in Oakville and expanded to the Quinte region, will continue here and elsewhere.

“We are hosting eight camps in the province so we’re hoping with 35 young females attending each of the camps we’re going to get almost 300 young women alone this year in the camps.”