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SUCCESS
STORY
Alumnus Andrea Beneteau
Broke Down Gender Barriers
in the Emergency Medical
Services World
Andrea Beneteau always knew she wanted to help people. Between her fascination with ambulances
and fire trucks as a child, her athletic nature as an adult and her lifelong desire to make a difference,
she knew that a career in emergency services would be the perfect fit.
COMMUNITY AND
HEALTH STUDIES
After graduating from Centennial’s Pre-Hospital Paramedic program in 1991, Andrea was immediately
hired by Toronto EMS. But it was five years later that she realized her true calling — Markham Fire and
Emergency Services was recruiting firefighters, and had never hired a woman. Andrea knew she could
change that.
“I always like a challenge,” she says. “Don’t tell me I can’t do something, because I’ll show I can do it!”
After undergoing the rigorous application and training process, Andrea finally got the call: she’d been
hired.
Andrea’s journey over the next 22 years until, her retirement in 2018, was not an easy one. She
experienced discrimination and had to fight for basic resources like a women’s change room (which
was finally built in 2017). But her challenges paved the way for future generations of women interested
in pursuing a career in emergency services. By the time Andrea left the service, having also been
named the first female fire captain in 2008, there were 20 other women on staff.
ANDREA’S ADVICE TO NEW STUDENTS...
“It’s so important to stand up and say, ‘This isn’t how things should be.’
You have to challenge the status quo or nothing will ever change.
My experiences prove that we need to think differently about what’s
possible and then show that we can do it.”
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Success Story