A plaque commemorating the Harry V. Smith Communication Center of the Henrietta Fire District is seen in the hallway of Station 4.
Calling
Video, text, and still photography by Caitlyn Daproza
“I've really gotten to know these people. They've become my family,” says firefighter Danielle Cammilleri.
Cammilleri, who has been working at Station 4 for just over a year, is one of the newer members of Group 3 in the district. She recently completed her term as a “probie,” or probationary firefighter, the training process that immediately follows the firefighting academy. Now, as a career firefighter, she finds fulfillment in a position that gives back to her community.
“This has been my dream since I was a little girl … I almost am addicted to that challenge. There's always more to learn in this job and you just can't get complacent.”
Firefighter Danielle Cammilleri of Station 4 speaks with another member of Henrietta Fire District at the scene of a call on Nov. 27, 2024.
When Cammilleri started her career as a first responder, “trying to get hired as a female firefighter was very frowned upon and very, very few and far between females ever getting hired.”
Throughout the seven stations in Henrietta, there are less than 10 women on any given shift. According to Women in Fire and 2020 US Fire Department Profile statistics, around 9% of all firefighters are female. The population for female firefighters has increased in the past 20 years, and continues to grow nationwide. At Station 4, there are around 1 or 2 women on shift for each group.
Jared Guhl navigates through an application to find where the scene of an accident in Rochester, N.Y. on Nov. 19, 2024. The application tracks the location of each vehicle responding to a call, which reduces the need for radio communication.
Lieutenant Chris Trewer and Firefighter Danielle Cammilleri speak together in the truck bay after responding to a call on Nov. 27, 2024.
Firefighter Danielle Cammilleri, right, sits in the fire truck after an outdoor training session as Battalion Chief Jared Guhl, center, speaks with another member of the Henrietta Fire District
In a town with a growing population, Cammilleri understands the demanding hours that come with her job:
“Obviously you're not going to make every holiday, every, you know, every birthday party,” she says. “No one really understands quite like we do, with the things we see.”
On the day before Thanksgiving, the roles for each crew member vary. From answering restaurant calls to covering stations while another crew in the district completes a training, nothing is predictable when a member is on the clock.
“We bond over the chaos for sure … I feel like the best thing you can do is just stay calm and relaxed in, you know, everybody's going to pick off and feed off that energy.”
For Cammilleri, it’s this chaos that keeps her coming back every day:
“I know that I will be wearing the same smile when I'm 20 years on. And I just know I'm going to appreciate walking in here every day and listen to that siren every time we're driving,” she says. “And there's just no feeling like it.”
The Henrietta Fire District began as a volunteer fire company in 1969. Currently, it is a combination of seven career and volunteer stations, and the district oversees a growing population, answering close to 8,000 calls each year. Battalion Chief and Public Information Officer Jared Guhl, says that “geographically, personnel and resources have doubled in the last 10 to 15 years.”
Station 4 serves as the district’s Headquarters, housing a dispatch center which receives calls for all seven stations throughout the town of Henrietta. The firefighters assigned to the station have been nicknamed the Sleepless Knights due to the volume of calls.
A collage of pictures from various response calls around Henrietta is seen on the wall of the kitchen at Station 4, along with a “Sleepless Knights” sign.