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Westchester Woman Becomes Firefighter At 56

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- It's been a long road but on Thursday, July 13, Robin Nesdale will take her oath in Valhalla and become a full-fledged volunteer firefighter with The Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department (TMFD).

Larchmont resident Robin Nesdale is a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Mamaroneck.

Larchmont resident Robin Nesdale is a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Mamaroneck.

Photo Credit: Submitted

At 56, the Larchmont divorcée is one of only a handful of female volunteers and as far as she knows, the oldest. (There is, it should be noted, a full-time female at TMFD on staff.) 

The mom of a college-age daughter said she could never have done all the hard work and training -- 130 hours of class time, two 100-question exams, a written hazardous material test, as well as a grueling physical test that entailed walking up and down three flights of stairs with a 40-pound hose, raising a ladder up and down, carrying heavy saws and dragging a 165-pound dummy -- without the support from the Chiefs and firefighters from the TMFD.

The ceremony later this week at Westchester DES Training Center is a culmination of a journey that began three years ago soon after becoming an empty nester. Post-divorce, she was looking for something that would help her community and challenge her at the same time.

"I would never have imagined I'd be here two years ago," she said: "But it's a great feeling to know I've overcome certain challenges and come out the other side.

Since her story first run in Daily Voice in May, she has been featured on CBS and in The New York Times.

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