Young firefighter plans to return to Watsonville

While she can’t quite remember what sparked her interest, Arielle Bennet has known she wanted to be a firefighter since she was a small child.

Bennet, 18, has been a part of the Watsonville Fire Youth Academy since last year, and now serves as advisor for the 20 young people currently going through the training.

She will attend the University of Idaho in the fall to study fire ecology and management. Once that’s over, the Aptos resident plans to return to the place where she grew up.

Her dream, she says, is to work for Watsonville Fire Department, a move that would require paramedic training on top of the EMT certification she already has.

Bennet has applied to the volunteer fire department in Idaho, and plans to remain an advisor for the WFD cadet program.

If she is hired here, she would be one of two women firefighters in WFD. It’s a career choice her parents—both of whom are doctors—were not enthusiastic about. 

“I think they’re not exactly happy that I chose firefighting,” she says. “I think they wanted me to do something less dangerous. But this is what I’m going to do.”

She says the physical aspect of the job—which includes hauling heavy ladders, hoses and other equipment—can be challenging, but adds that is also a big draw for her. The biggest, however, is the camaraderie she finds in the department.

“This is the community I grew up in,” she says. “I want to serve this community. The people here are incredible, and I would be honored to be a part of the firefighters and the community they have here.”