The city of Grapevine on Friday will celebrate a history maker.
"There will be stories told, hopefully, hopefully, good stories," said Sheli Pugach, the first female firefighter in Grapevine and its first and only female captain. Pugach officially retired on June 30 but the celebration of a life of service and setting the bar happens today.
"I started October 1st of 1997, and I was the first female hired in the city of Grapevine and one of the very few females in the North Texas area, specifically in smaller departments," Pugach said. "I was athletic, I liked law enforcement. I liked medicine and so I was trying many different things and I said, 'Ok, I'll, I'll try this.' And, I did it and I liked it. When I went to the fire academy at Collin College, I was class seven and they're in the double digits, like way almost to the triples, I think. So, I was like, "Oh, my gosh, it's fun,' and I'm helping people and felt like I was making a difference."
She was on the front lines beside the men fighting fires, performing rescues, leading a crew, building and restoring new fire stations for the city, and seeing the difference she brought to the job as a woman was necessary.
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"There were calls I ran because cultures needed a female there to speak with the patient because they would not interact with the men," she explained. "And, so it's important to remember that it takes all types of people to be able to connect with your whole community."
In her almost 26-year career, the captain's most important call for help was the one she made for herself; a call to improve her mental health, so she could get back in the field.
"I had some significant calls throughout my career. And because I was the first female, I experienced a lot of things that other people did not experience. And, it got to a point where I needed, my cup was wistful and I needed to ask for help and I did," she said. "I went back to work and so that, that is my greatest accomplishment for myself."
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Captain Pugach is now getting a master's degree in leadership and organizational development at UT Dallas to coach others especially women to make decisions that empower their success.
"I hope to take my experiences and try to help other people make decisions that are best for themselves, and ask for help if they need help. And just see if I can make a difference in other ways and let, and let the younger people put all that heavy gear on and run into burning buildings," she smiled.
