Cork firefighter: 'The job is physical. You have to be able to move quickly under stress'

Linguist, translator, teacher, fitness fanatic, music lover, and mum to two active children, one would be forgiven for thinking that Sabine Menz might have enough on her plate.

But, throw in all the community activities with which she is passionately involved, and it is clear Sabine thrives on being busy.

Sabine’s seemingly endless energy reminds one of that saying, ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person.’

“I’ve always been heavily involved in the Crosshaven community,” she says. Together with some wonderfully positive locals, she drives the Crosshaven Music Collective, which is a platform for local musicians to perform and share music.

They also hope to set up a Youth Music project in the newly-established Youth Club.

She helps out with the Crosshaven Sea Scouts and also sings in the local community choir with conductor, and powerhouse, Dr Eva McMullen.

“I had contemplated signing up to help with the RNLI but hadn’t got around to applying for it,” she said.

So, when her husband spotted an ad last May for retained firefighters in Crosshaven, timing seemed to on her side.

“The main attraction for me was that it is very exciting and different from what I do day to day. I am a very active person. I love to exercise, keep fit, paddle board, run, rock climb. I have a lot of energy. And also love learning and working as part of a team.”

Combined with her drive to help her community, this job seemed to tick all the boxes.

The three-week recruit training course last summer was both physically and mentally very tough, but Sabine thrived on it. She learned about the behaviour of different types of fires, used pumps and hydraulics, did gruelling fire drills in full fire-gear, outdoors under an unusually blazing sun, hauled heaving hoses up a ladder, was trained in stabilising an overturned car and to use hydraulic tools to safely free a casualty. It was a jam-packed and intense few weeks, but so rewarding.

And at the end of each day, Sabine returned home to give her children some cuddles and help with their homework.

“I loved the team work. In drills, everyone had an individual role, and we rotated those roles so we got to experience different facets of the job at hand. The biggest challenge for me was rolling out the hoses. We were taught how to roll them out quickly, but they are very heavy and I still find that a struggle.

“The job is physical. You have to be able to move quickly under stress and work 100% as a team. However, you also have to be able to see beyond the physical to the overall challenge.”

As is the case in many smaller towns around the country, there is nobody permanently based at Crosshaven fire station. They are all retained fire-fighting personnel.

Women make up just a small percentage of all firefighters across the Irish fire service. Crosshaven seems to be bucking that trend with Menz becoming the third female appointment to join the ranks of the 11 firefighters already in situ, and soon, 25% of their firefighters will be female.

“We have some very inspirational women working at the station, including our sub-station officer and our driver/mechanic”, explains Sabine.

“Paul Griffin, our ACFO south, has been very encouraging and helpful and makes us feel very valued.”

All emergency calls are logged centrally, so when that 999 call is received, a decision will be made on which resources are needed where.

When the Crosshaven fire service is called, our pagers will go off, and we have to move immediately. I am a light sleeper so have no problem waking up if called during the night. Going to bed, however, you have to know where your clothes, shoes, and keys are for a speedy exit.

“All our fire-fighting gear is in the station. The trousers are already tucked into the boots so you jump into those.”

It takes Sabine about 30 seconds to do this, which is apparently “much slower than the others!”

“The high-viz vest is attached to the jacket so you put those on as one, and the helmet and gloves you put on in the truck.

“All in all, we hope to be mobilised within five minutes.”

To be clear, that five minutes is from the receipt of a 999 call to paging the firefighters, their commute to the station, getting geared up, and out in the truck to attend the fire.

No time for dawdlers and heavy sleepers!

“This morning was the first call out I had where I was still in bed, so I just put on a pair of socks and my Crocs and jumped into my car in my PJs,” she adds with a laugh! I’m sitting here now having my coffee and savouring it.”

Sabine said that one of the most exciting parts of the job for her is that it is different every time.

“I love it when the pager goes off and I have to leave. I don’t know what I’m going into.

“I know I’m going to encounter things on the job that regular people won’t see, and I don’t know how I’m going to react to the more harrowing experiences I’ll be exposed to. However, If I look at it that I’m there to help, to try and make the situation a bit better, that might help me cope down the line. I think I might love to do this full time!”