Madison Allen and her fellow firefighters returned to Fire Station 2 after their third consecutive call on Thursday around 1 p.m. The fettuccine that she had attempted to prepare for lunch earlier had been left unfinished, but was quickly put together upon return and the firefighters helped themselves to a serving.

Allen has the distinction of being the first Kewanee female firefighter and if the media coverage of her hiring is any indication, it’s a pretty big deal. She sat down with The Kewanee Voice for an interview to talk about how she found herself the focus of such attention.

Allen isn’t just learning on the job, but she’s also learning about the community, which is something she hopes to be a part of. She was born and raised in Bushnell, a city about 20 minutes from Macomb, she said.

Many members of her family have a law enforcement background and her father is a retired police officer. Her mother is in healthcare and works as a nurse practitioner, so it just seemed natural for her to want to take a job where she helps others.

“I definitely always had the will to want to help people and the community,” Allen said.

Allen attended Bushnell Prairie City High School and graduated in 2019. After that, she attended college in Kankakee, where she studied criminal justice and played women’s basketball, a sport she also played in high school.

She transferred to Western Illinois University and received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 2023 and it looked very much as if she’d follow in her father’s footsteps. But after graduation, she said, the Bushnell Fire Department announced it was hiring and she found herself doing some training and liking it.

“I really enjoyed it. It was really cool,” she said.

That training might have been the end of the road to becoming a firefighter if her dad hadn’t given her a piece of advice over the years.

“My dad always said if he had to do it all over again, he would do fire,” Allen said.

Rather than use her criminal justice degree, she decided to go another route.

When the opportunity presented itself, Allen took and passed the CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test) in Decatur. That certification gave her an advantage when she applied for the Kewanee position.

“It was very hard,” she said of the test, admitting that it took her two tries.

The test involves timed tasks such as a 10-minute workout wearing a weighted vest, a hose drag and hose pull with a time limit; and includes carrying heavy tools and saws, along with a dummy drag. It was like an obstacle course of timed tasks, she said, but being an athlete in both high school and college definitely helped her.

Kewanee firefighter Tyler Gudat said that having to take the test twice is nothing to be ashamed of.

“There are plenty of men that don’t pass it the first time,” said Gudat.

One city official told The Kewanee Voice that it was never the intention of the city not to hire a female onto the fire department, but no female candidate before Allen had ever qualified.

In order to qualify to be a Kewanee firefighter, Allen was required to take a general knowledge written test, but because she had her CPAT certification, a physical test wasn’t required.

She was notified on Oct. 19 that she had been hired for the Kewanee position and her first official day was Nov. 4.

“She’ll have to get medic eventually and go to the fire academy in Peoria,” said Lt. Joe Rediger.

Lt. Rediger said Allen will attend the fire academy at the end of February where she will learn everything she needs to know from rescuing victims to HAZMAT. It’s 12 weeks of fire certification.

“She’s going to learn all of the basics,” said Lt. Rediger.

But on the job now, Allen is learning to live the life of a Kewanee firefighter. She started off learning daily chores, and is still working on perfecting putting on her gear in a minute. She also needs to learn the compartments of the vehicles, how to climb up ladders and other essential firefighting skills. For now, on calls, she “observes and carries things,” she said.

Lt. Rediger said there are three jobs within the department; officers, engineers, who drive the trucks and operate the pumps and firefighters. Allen will be a firefighter, he said.

Although the department acts as a team while on the job, Lt. Rediger said there are specific tasks that they each have on calls.

Allen has spent the last couple weeks familiarizing herself with her new position and admits it’s all been a big change for not only her, but her coworkers as well.

“I grew up with all sisters. It’s a change being around all men,” she said, adding that her coworkers are giving her great advice and helping her out.

“There is a bit of a learning curve,” Lt. Rediger said of the Kewanee Fire Department. “They’re tiptoeing around but they’ll get used to it. So far I’ve heard only good comments.”

After working 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shifts, on Monday Allen worked her first 24 hour-shift. She’ll work 24 hours on and get 48 hours off, which works well for her since she has a 10-month-old baby at home, she said.

“The biggest adjustment will be to get used to the snoring,” Lt. Rediger said.

While Allen is fitting in with her all male counterparts, she admits to feeling a little insecure.

“The biggest thing is that I don’t want them to ever feel like they weren’t safe. I want them to focus on their job and know I have their back,” she said, comparing it to the days when she played co-ed basketball. It feels a lot like that to her. “You have a little more to prove.”

One area she is proving herself in is her culinary skills, which she’ll need in order to compete with the department’s skilled cooks. She’s made fettuccine but other specialties she would like to prepare include chopped Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and kabobs, although using the grill isn’t something she excels at.

“I will have to leave that to them,” Allen said.

Her immediate goals besides attending the academy are more personal in nature and involve her fellow firefighters.

“I would definitely say I want to build that trust with all of them. Learning the basics and getting my EMT and getting to know the community,” said Allen.