Orillia's new deputy fire chief, Ashley Noganosh, is making history as both the first woman and the first Indigenous person in the role with the Orillia Fire Department.
Noganosh, 43, came into the position Jan. 1 with 23 years of experience with the Rama fire department. She made history there, too, when she was appointed deputy fire chief in 2023, becoming the first woman in the role.
She and newly appointed Orillia Fire Chief Chris Ferry had been in their new positions for 20 days before the fire at Peter and Mississaga streets in downtown Orillia.
Ferry led the scene.
"We split up the work. I was in overall command of the fire and Ashley worked around and kept an eye on the building, gave direction to the captains and the firefighters and contacted the fire marshal's office," Ferry said.
"It was insane that it happened so quickly. The main goal was to make sure that it didn't spread. The crews did amazing work containing it to the one building," Noganosh said.
"The biggest thing that I held close to me during that time was I talked to the business owners about their experiences with what was going on, giving them updates and helping them with next steps and the aftermath."
The fire was also an extraordinary parallel to her career initiation in Rama. The first fire she attended was at a Peter Street building in Orillia in the early 2000s.
"I kind of felt like that was a full-circle moment for me. It was unfortunate that those things happened, but it kind of made me feel like I'm where I am supposed to be right now," she said.
Ferry, who started with the Orillia Fire Department in 2003, was on the hiring panel when Noganosh applied.
"For us, we found the way she handles herself and her work on a day-to-day basis ... and the way she answered the questions toward the fire service and people fit in with how we operate here," he said.
Noganosh began her fire career as part of a recruit class of 10, when she was 19 and the only female, at the former Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst. She started working for Rama's fire department in 2001.
Her mother was her inspiration when the call for recruits went out.
"She said, 'They will probably be looking for some diversity. You are young and it would be a good career for you,'" Noganosh recalled.
She was training for a military co-op at the time and was suddenly faced with a hard choice.
"The same day I was supposed to start fire college was the same day I was to start my military co-op. It wasn't until the night before that I decided fire college was the way to go and I haven't looked back since," she said.
Barriers have been many, but Noganosh has fought her way through them all by believing in herself.
One barrier was physical. When she went to fire college, the five-foot-five woman weighed 105 pounds. She worked hard and put on 30 pounds of muscle before graduating from the three-month program.
"Just being able to manouevre with all the gear and lifting the hoses was the big thing. They gave us push-ups for homework," she said.
She also had to be able to drag another firefighter out of a fire scene, and she passed the test.
"It was an amazing time. It was really hard, but it was all worth it in the end," she said.
Noganosh said there were many naysayers who thought a woman couldn't do the job, but she didn't listen to them.
"That has followed me around my whole career. There are always people who think you can't do it or don't encourage you. That doesn't matter. It all depends on the way you feel, what you know you can do and accomplish," she said.
"I believed in myself and I had a lot of people who backed me up — definitely, my family and my friends."
Noganosh also has family members in the fire service. Two uncles were firefighters in Rama. Her husband, David, is a Rama fire captain.
The couple have been together for 23 years and they have three children between the ages of 16 and 27.
Noganosh was driven because she was a mother at a young age and was determined to provide for her family.
Her advice to young people considering a career as a firefighter is to believe in themselves.
"If it's really in your heart and that is what you want to do, then follow your dreams and go after it," she said.
"It's not easy. It's not for the faint of heart, but just go for it."
She has helped others get into the fire service through development programs at the Rama fire department.
"I know that it is a big deal that I've come into Orillia and I'm the first female Indigenous deputy, but I feel it's an accomplishment I should have celebrated when it happened in Rama as well. It's nice that I can celebrate the accomplishment in both spots," she said.
Noganosh said she is loving her new job and hopes to have a long career with the Orillia Fire Department.