Only men used to become firefighters at airports. The job is filled with hazards and it requires an amount of alertness to be a firefighter. Remya Sreekantan will become the first female firefighter of Airport Authority of India from South India as she takes charge on November 28.
Remya is the wife of Arun residing in ‘Sreeganga’ in Parassala Karode. An M.Tech graduate in civil engineering, she decided to become a firefighter after understanding the dangers that come with the job. The training was hard. Rope climbing, pole climbing, running with hard hose-Remya excelled much better than male trainees, says Vishnu-a co-trainee.
She was a guest lecturer at Poojappura LBS for two years. Then went for PSC training. Arun, who is working in a private company at the airport, told Remya about the chance to apply in the Junior Assistant category in the South Zone Fire Service of Airport Authority. Remya applied and later secured high marks in the written examination. She then trained for three months at Kattachalkuzhy Kailasam Physical Centre under Sajith to prepare for physical tests. When the rank list came there was only one woman-Remya. Her family was initially shocked but backed her soon after. She underwent training at Delhi Fire Training Centre for four months. All the trainers and trainees there were men. They gave the consideration she was the first woman from the south zone.
Remya says that her husband, father Sreekantan Nair and mother Geethakumar have supported her all the way which helped in her success. Remya has a two-year-old daughter named Anumitha.
In India, there are only two women other than Remya from Kolkata and Rajasthan who are working in the same post.
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