A Fiery Pioneer

When Eileen Parlato was a child, her mother told her: "If you want something, you work hard to get it. Don't let anybody tell you you can't do something."

Parlato took the advice and became East Haven's first -- and still only -- professional female firefighter.

"Part of the pressure was proving I had the knowledge and skills to perform a job I loved doing," she said. As a woman in a male-dominated field, Parlato, 41, said she always felt she was being watched although treated fairly.

The lifelong East Havener started out as a volunteer in 1991; then trained to become an EMT. But she said she was nevertheless frustrated in her limited role because she could only respond to medical calls.

So, Parlato decided to go pro.

She enrolled in two firefighting classes at the East Haven Fire Department where she said she learned the "nitty-gritty of firefighting. You actually had to go into live fires," she said.  

In 2005, Parlato was made a battalion chief for the East Haven Fire Department.

An East Haven family

Parlato's brother Freddy Parlato is also an East Haven firefighter. But they're not allowed to put out fires together, according to a policy prohibiting family members to work on the same crew.

"We're on opposite shifts. We see each other coming and going," she said. There are five other siblings in the Parlato family.

Her father is former Republican Town Councilman Fred Parlato. Her mother,  Noreen Parlato, teaches at the Old Stone Church Playschool. Both parents were given East Haven's Merit Award.

Eileen Parlato's second job is as a mother to her 13-year-old son, Noah, and 11-year-old daughter, Jordan, both students at Saint Vincent De Paul School.

"They come down [to headquarters] all the time," she said. Parlato, who is not married, said the firehouse is her kids' extended family.

She said Jordan does not find her distinction as the only female firefighter in the department unusual. 

"I was on the job for six years before she was born, so it's always been a part of her life," said Parlato. "I don't think she puts a thought into it."

But other kids apparently do.

"A lot of teachers in town ask me to speak to their class," she said. Recently, a teacher asked Parlato if she would talk to her class after a girl announced, "Girls can't be firefighters." 

In addition to talking to East Haven classrooms, Parlato has also spoken to the Girl Scouts of America.

On the job

"We got a call from a man saying, 'There is something wrong with my wife; she's not waking up,'" said Parlato. At the scene it was determined that the wife had gone into cardiac arrest, she said. Parlato got out the defibrillator.

"We shocked her and she came back with pulses," she said.

Another call etched in Parlato's memory occurred five years ago. She said she remembers the scene as if it was yesterday.

A woman pregnant with twins had gone into premature labor. Parlato said her crew, as first responders, arrived at the woman's house and soon the firstborn infant was in Parlato's arms. A few minutes later, an ambulance appeared and transported the mother and her twins to a hospital.

"The one I was holding died later in the hospital," said Parlato. "Sometimes the best we can do isn't good enough; sometimes there's a higher force at work. Losses like that stay with me."

A few days after the incident, the woman who had lost one of her twins rang the Fire Department to say thanks. Parlato said her call was "touching" and that she will always remember it.

"We don't expect people to say thank you. It's our job," she said.