After spending much of her career as the only female firefighter in her unit, Shavawn Johnson is excited to now be a Cal Fire captain.
"I think all the hard work pays off to this point. Captain is kind of the milestone we all work for,” Johnson said.
Moving on up in rank, with the badge to prove it, Johnson is elated she went from Cal Fire firefighter to engineer and now captain.“[There were] lots of written tests, studying, learning different SOPs within the state department, training, classes. Everything kind of builds up to this point. Blood sweat and tears - it’s not easy, but you’ll get through it,” she said.
Spending a decade with Cal Fire San Diego, Johnson first knew firefighting was in her blood when the department would come to her house a lot as a child when her grandfather suffered numerous falls from his battle with cancer.
"One day, I actually saw a female firefighter that came by, and right then, I knew, 'this is something that I want to do,'" she said.