When Allison Ryan visited Binghamton City School District students last week, no one would have known she just finished a 24-hour shift at work. Full of energy, she spent more than an hour explaining what she does for a living, why she loves it, and answering students’ and teachers’ questions about her career.
“It can be grueling, but if you fall in love with it, it’s really something special,” Ryan said.
Ryan is a member of the City of Binghamton Fire Department. After graduating from Binghamton High School in 2012 she attended LeMoyne College. Then, Ryan returned to her hometown where she worked in administration at Lourdes Hospital, but when the fire department offered its exam for new recruits she decided to follow in the footsteps of her firefighter father and grandfather.
“I always thought about it growing up, but truly it never really crossed my mind until I was working at my previous job, which I loved, but there was something missing,” Ryan said. “The opportunity to take the (firefighter) test came up, I studied for it, ended up getting a 100 on the exam and once I got that result I knew that’s what I was going to work towards.”
There is no shortage of harrowing tales from a day’s work for Ryan and the rest of the fire department. In addition to fighting fires, she works BFD’s ambulance, has participated in water rescues on the Susquehanna River, and has even delivered a baby. Not only is she the third generation in her family to perform these heroic duties, Ryan is also one of just three women currently serving in the ranks of the Binghamton Fire Department.
“It’s important to show young women that if it’s something you want to do and want to be a part of something bigger, you can do it,” Ryan said. “Whether you’re male, female, tall, short, if you put the work in, you can do it: we all do the same job, we all took the same test, we all passed the same requirements.”
While every member of the fire department is considered an equal, it is still important for students, especially girls, to see that anyone can work in a profession that has been historically comprised of mostly men.
“Even if it’s something that you never thought about doing, there’s always an opportunity,” Ryan said. “It’s important to keep these options open for kids and letting them know that no matter where you come from and your background, if you put your mind to it you can literally do anything.”
It’s a message that Ryan will continue to share with schools, community groups, and anyone else who wants to know about serving as a firefighter. And it’s one that she believes in because she’s lived it herself.