PHOENIX — It was all hugs, and perhaps a few tears, as the assistant chief of the Phoenix Fire Department turned the page on a career she loved for so long.
“That's been part of the real joy of working with the Phoenix Fire Department: the love you feel every day, not just from your brothers and sisters, but the community,” said Shelly Jamison, who retired Friday after 27 years with the Department.
It was a second career for the former journalist. If there was a position available at the department, she jumped on it. Firefighter, Paramedic, HAZMAT, Technical Rescue -- she’s done it all.
“I took every advancement, every opportunity, every door that opened, and I walked through it,” Jamison said. “And by gosh, it led me to the Administrative Offices, and I've been able to serve four different fire chiefs. It's been gratifying. I'm just so grateful.
“Since becoming a firefighter, probably the thing that has become most apparent to me is the human side of life; I've been able to help people on their very worst day,” Jamison said.
Jamison was part of Arizona Task Force One, or AZ-TF1, that assisted in natural disasters across the country, such as Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Harvey.
“At the end of the day, what it helps you learn is that we're all the same,” Jamison said. “It doesn't matter what color we are, or what age we are. We're all very vulnerable. We need one another and kindness rules.”
As one of only four women in her graduating class from the academy, there was one role with the fire department that was most meaningful: Trailblazer.
“Have I paved the way for other women? I hope so,” Jamison said. “I really do because diversity is something that makes us strong in the Phoenix Fire Department. Whether you're a woman, LGBT, of another ethnicity, or socio-economic class, the more we defer, the better we serve the community. If young females look up to me and say, ‘I hope I can be that someday,’ then I've done my job.”
"As one of two females to ever serve within the Phoenix Fire Department’s Executive Staff - she broke glass ceilings and led the way for other female firefighters," the Phoenix Fire Department said on X.
Shelly Jamison may have joined the department a little later than most, but she used her time there to change lives, and save lives.
“I took the whole career and sampled almost all of it. It has been fabulous. I loved it.”
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