SARASOTA - One of the first female firefighters in Sarasota County is calling it quits after almost 30 years on the job. Lt. Jean Vessel says after four years of trying to decide on the right time to retire, Friday is her last day.
Vessel says a lot has changed in the last three decades that she's spent as a firefighter paramedic in Sarasota County. Vessel is working her last 24 hour shift at Station 13 on Siesta Key. She says retiring has not been an easy decision.
Vessel started her career in 1980 when she was just 17-years-old. "I had some friends that were in the fire service and I had a great deal of respect for them and decided I wanted to do what they were doing," says Vessel.
Vessel says she was the first woman to go on payroll in Sarasota County as a firefighter, but to a woman who co-workers call strong willed, that's not a big deal.
She started at a Fruitville Road station and eventually met her husband Dennis. They've been married close to 17 years and have five children.
"As life goes on you give and you take and this has been a lot of giving to the community so we walk away feeling good with that we don't need pats on the back because we chose to be here, and that's the best part of all," says Lt. Dennis Vessel.
Jean Vessel's co workers say it's going to be different without her around. "I hate to see her go because I know the station won't smell as good anymore that's for sure," says
firefighter EMT Donald Bailey.
"She's strong willed, you got to be, she has to be. I'm sure as a female especially starting out when she did it was a lot different back then and that probably brought her where she is today as a good leader."says Spencer Azar, Sarasota County Firefighter Paramedic.
"Her job is to make sure the shift runs smoothly and that we all go home so that's always been something that she is always looking out for our best interest whether it be a fire scene or whatever may be going on amongst the station, she always makes sure that we remain safe and that we all get home."says Sarasota County Firefighter EMT Keith Richardson.
"She knows her job which is the biggest and best part, and so we've always, I've always felt safe to have her around and I am going to miss her," says Bailey.
Vessel says even though she's officially retiring, being a firefighter will always be a part of who she is. "Oh there's definitely something about it. It just becomes part of you soul I guess, I don't know how to describe it, it's just something that if you're meant to do this it becomes a significant part of your life, the people the job the helping other people, it's very, very rewarding," says Jean Vessel.
