Tobi Noble

Tobi Noble always knew she didn’t want an office job. “I wanted an active career and something that would challenge me.” Being an urban career firefighter in New Zealand is not an easy job, but Noble finds it rewarding. “I show up for people on their worst day and do everything I can to make their situation better. The outcome may not always be successful, but the intention is always to help.” She also enjoys the camaraderie with her fellow firefighters and says she learns something new every shift. But it hasn’t always been easy to be a female firefighter. “Not a lot of women are in this job, and I have always liked pushing boundaries and questioning the assumption you can’t do something because of your gender. I am also passionate about helping people and want to give back to my community,” she explains. She continues to look forward and push herself. Currently, she’s training to become a station officer—something there are very few of, but Noble says, “it is important to me to increase representation of women in this space.” –SS