FIGHTING Fires

A daring career change enriched Cath Homan’s life

- JAMES HANMAN, KARA O'NEILL

As a call comes in and the alarm bells begin to ring through the fire station, Cath Homan, 55, grabs her helmet and runs towards the fire truck that is ready to leave.

As she bundles inside with her colleagues, she feels the familiar rush of adrenaline – and pride too.

‘At 55, I’m finally doing a job I love that’s making a difference to people’s lives,’ Cath says.

Cath started working for Battersea Fire Station in 1997, but not as a firefighter – she was working as a cook to the crew.

A new mother to her daughter Matilda, then 18 months, the part-time job fitted perfectly around childcare and, while her mum Josie looked after Matilda at the weekends, Cath would work in the fire station kitchen.

‘I’d worked in catering since leaving school, and though I enjoyed my work, it wasn’t completely fulfilling,’ Cath explains.

‘Still, I got along well with the staff and, as the years passed, I even met a few female firefighters. It might sound naive, but I’d never heard of women being firefighters before, and I was so impressed.’

Cath often found herself wishing that she could do something as brave as those women but, back then, there was an upper age limit of 30 for becoming a firefighter. Already in her mid-30s, Cath assumed she had missed her chance.

But then, in April 2000, she was working a Saturday shift and was joking with a few members of the fire crew.