Assistant Fire Chief Holly Mulholland works to diversify Rochester's fire department
Jul. 29—ROCHESTER — Holly Mulholland didn't grow up dreaming of one day being a firefighter.
In fact, 14 years ago, she was working in a credit union, trying to figure out her next step in life. That's when a coworker, who was married to a firefighter, asked Mulholland if she ever considered being a firefighter as a career path.
"I thought that might be something I'd like to do," she said. "I looked at where I could take the classes to learn more about this. When I took my first firefighting class — that Fire 102 class — that was the end of it. I knew this is what I wanted to do."
Mulholland credits that nudge, and subsequent help along the way, as factors in her October promotion to assistant fire chief.
Getting into leadership wasn't something Mulholland considered much when she first joined the Rochester Fire Department in 2008, because "when you first start as a firefighter, you're doing everything you can to master your craft," she said, but she did think she'd like to be a captain someday.
She did reach that rank rather quickly, then continued to be promoted up the ladder to battalion chief and, now, assistant fire chief.
"It went quick for me," Mulholland said. "If you asked the 28-year-old me when I first got on if I knew that's where I was headed, I think I would have told you no."
But, as her career progressed, Mulholland knew she wanted to give back a little more. Ultimately, it comes back to what she's most passionate about: serving.
Mulholland was the first female captain, first female battalion chief and is now the first female assistant chief, which was humbling for her. However, having the "first female" title in a department with a 152-year history made Mulholland passionate about reaching young females and showing them that a career in the fire department is possible.
"It is something that we'd like to change, and we're outreaching because there's a lot of good that can come when the team that's responding to an emergency is reflective of the community, and we know that," she said.
The fire department is present at many community events, like Safe City Nights, which is
hosting another event
at Slatterly Park on Aug. 9, 2022. Connecting with the community allows the fire department to build relationships that are intended to diversify the organization.
The fire department is also hosting a Women's Expo for women over the age of 14 to learn more about firefighting as a career. Mulholland and others are kicking around additional ideas on how to "provide some information and education about what it is exactly we do."
"And try to combat that reaction that a lot of people have, which is, 'Oh I could never do that,'" Mulholland said. "It's like, you actually could, very successfully. Don't count yourself out just because somebody told you, you couldn't."
