“Always leave it better than you found it.”

Captain Dena Ali, City of Raleigh FD

Why did you originally become a firefighter? 

Captain Dena Ali was always interested in public safety. In high school, she loved the outdoors and playing sports. Initially, Ali wanted to be a police officer, which she actually did for 5 years. Although she enjoyed helping others in her community as a police officer, she realized that it was not what she was looking for because it was so reactive to tragedy. 

During her time as a police officer, Ali was always jealous of the firefighters because people were grateful to have them show up most of the time. She didn’t think she was qualified to apply though until she watched season two of the TV series Rescue Me.

“I saw a female firefighter on Rescue Me, and I was like ‘WHOA!  I can do that?'”

She applied shortly thereafter and the rest is history. Today she is a Fire Captain for the City of Raleigh Fire Department an adjunct professor for the National Fire Academy.

What advice do you have for other firefighters? 

Stay positive and remember that nothing is forever. 

The best bit of advice that Captain Ali received was to leave everything better than she found it. “I think that’s always inspired me to do good work and find ways to help others do better work,” Captain Ali reflected. “It also has inspired me to try to leave a mark.”

She encourages other firefighters to stay focused, stay humble and keep working hard.

What changes do you foresee in the fire service? 

“The fire service is at a critical point in history,” Captain Ali stated. “Our traditional membership is changing and we are seeing a different makeup due to increased focus on diversity, equality, and inclusion.” 

These changes cause friction and they’ve led to increased attrition in the fire service. Captain Ali believes that these struggles might be for the best though. She is confident that it will make the fire service stronger in the next few years as firefighters from different generations, personalities, and backgrounds learn to work as a cohesive unit.

“I honestly see us stepping up as we learn how to get along better, accept differences, and truly lead.” 

Captain Ali chose to share her eye opening experience of attending fire conferences. She’ll take it from here…

“I work for the city of Raleigh, we are the capital of North Carolina and we have a great department with great instructors. I never thought about attending a fire conference. To me, they were expensive and unnecessary since I was getting pretty great training at home.

“Boy, was I wrong!“

“My first conference was FDIC in 2015, and there I met so many incredible people.  My favorite class there was “Lead From the Front,” taught by Chief (ret) Steve Chickerotis from the Chicago Fire Department.  He covered such great material.  After attending FDIC, I got the opportunity to go to the Firemanship Conference in Portland, ME, the Art of Firemanship Days in Harrisburg, PA, Journeyman Conference in West Point, VA, and Water of the Fire in Pensacola, FL. Through these conferences, I have made some incredible lifelong friends, learned some incredible tricks of the trade and skills from the experiences of others.

“I have been able to learn about firefighting from folks like Ben Shultz, Cody Trestrail, Justin McWilliams, Tim Klett, John Salka, Steve Robertson, Anthony Rowett, Moe Davis, Eric Wheaten and so many others.  The value gained from these experiences can not be understated.“

“I highly recommend that folks take time to get out of their communities, attend conferences, meet people, make friends, and bring home knowledge.“