First Female Greenwich Firefighter, Whitney Welch Retires after 37 Years of Service

Whitney Welch made history as Greenwich’s first female firefighter. The year was 1989 and Welch was considered a trailblazer.

After 37 years of service to the Town, Welch retired at the end of July.

Welch, a lifelong Greenwich resident who joined the Fire Dept in 1989 at the age of 24, said that so far transitioning to retirement has required some adjustment.

“I miss the day to day operations and the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood,” she said. “At one point there were three of us female firefighters, but now there are no female firefighters on the force.”

“Firefighting is a tough job, both mentally and physically, and being the only female for most of my career was a huge challenge. There were no separate standards, which is fine, I didn’t get special treatment. As a matter of fact, I felt like I always had to prove myself,” Welch reflected two weeks into retirement.

Welch described being drawn to the job after initially becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) back in 1984.

“I was a volunteer in the Glenville back when the ambulance was at the fire house,” she said. “That was before there was GEMS.”

A competitive swimmer who played multiple sports in high school and college, Welch knew she wanted a career that would match her active lifestyle.

“I wanted to go out on an ambulance calls, she recalled.

She went full-time with GEMS when that organization started in 1986.

Spending time at the Glenville firehouse, Welch said she was inspired to take her first training course, the Firefighter Certification, that covered the basics of initial tactical, rescue, and safety operations.

A year later, the process of becoming a firefighter started with a written aptitude test, physical agility test and an interview.

“I was ranked 20th out of 400 applicants – all men,” she recalled, adding that at the time the Chief was John Titsworth.  “It was about one year later the list got down to me.”

When she switched over from GEMS to the Fire Dept, said recalled the firehouse was staffed with two people during a shift.

“At the station there would be two people – me and one other guy. It was stressful at first to be the only female, and there were uncomfortable moments,” she recalled. “But if I enjoy something I won’t quit.”

While she took to the work, one particular snag involved her uniforms.  The clothing didn’t fit properly.

She described a straight cut with no room for hips or chest, and sleeves and pant legs that were too long.

Along the way, that situation resolved, and nowadays female uniforms are tailored to fit women.

Another change was how the shifts were organized.

Earlier in her career firefighters worked three days of 8:00 to 6:00 shifts followed by three days off, then three night shifts, 6:00pm to 8:00am, followed by three days off.

Nowadays the shifts are 24 hours, 8:00am to 8:00am, followed by 72 hours off.

“I miss interacting with the public,” Welch said, explaining that one of her duties with the Fire Dept was as a car seat technician.

“I helped install baby car seats. I am certified by the National Highway Safety administration.”

She also enjoyed giving fire prevention presentations in the local schools.

“I loved my job,” Welch said. “I went to work every day with pride and commitment to serve my community to the best of my ability.”

Over the years Welch became a familiar face in town, not only through her service with the Fire Dept, but she has also coached swimming at the YWCA Greenwich for 28 years.

And she is recognized as part of a therapy dog team.

Her Bernese Mountain Dogs, all raised from puppies, have had fire department-themed names. Before “Siren,” who is 7-1/2 today, there was Cinder and, then there was Matty, short for Mattydale lay, which is a method of storing hose on a fire engine.

And so while retiring from the Fire Dept is bittersweet, when school starts in a couple weeks, Welch looks forward to taking Siren to her alma mater, Greenwich Country Day School, as well as to Greenwich Library branches including Byram Shubert and Perrot where children read to the dog.

At 62, Welch said, “I wanted to retire while I was still healthy and able to do other things. Climbing ladders and crawling on my hands and knees got a bit much.”

Greenwich Fire Dept Chief Joseph McHugh commented on the retirement of Welch and another senior firefighter who retired two weeks ago, Eddie Williams, who gave 38 years of service to Greenwich.

“They both gave the Greenwich Fire Department and the citizens of this town combined over 75 years of service,” McHugh said. “As the Chief of this department I thank them both for their service and wish them both the best in their retirements.”

In the waning days of summer, Welch said that while she misses the job she loved for decades, she has vacation plans that include Siren, of course.