Fresh Loaf

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

When most people imagine firefighters, they rarely imagine women. Sharyl Chatman joined the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department four years ago. She is one of only 40 women in a department employing 1,045 people.

Why did Chatman become a firefighter? “It’s exciting. I like the variety [and] community involvement. It’s a brotherhood and sisterhood.”

“Imagine you’re trapped in a building with someone. You learn their family, their kids. You feel people’s grief.”

“We work 24 hours on and 48 hours off.”

Her first fire call was her most nerve-racking. “My first fire was the worst. There was a woman yelling, ‘My baby. My baby.’”

Before Chatman was a firefighter, she was a teacher. “I was a math instructor in a high school.”

On why there aren’t more women firefighters: “It’s a very physical job. We’ve lived in a patriarchal society. We are moving forward because our ancestors have fought.”

“I’ve been on a couple of calls and people said, ‘There’s a lady!’ It’s girl power, if you will.”

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When Hurricane Dean brushed Jamaica last month, Peta Wiggins was there. The Georgia State University graduate student was visiting her family home in Mandeville, west of Kingston, for the first time in two years. Wiggins’ grandmother died the day after the storm.

“Yes, we stayed at our house [during the storm]. You just started hearing noises on the roof, and our avocado tree was rooted up and it fell on top of the roof. That was exciting.”

“There’s no TV or anything [during a storm]. So, we had a pack of cards and we had dominoes, with, like, a kerosene lamp. And we just talked. My niece taught me how to hula hoop.”

As Wiggins took pictures of the storm, her mother said, “What are you doing? You aren’t a tourist.”

On her grandmother’s death: “I think she had heart failure. My mom had to actually put her mother in the car when she was dead, and take her to the hospital.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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How long have you been with DeKalb County Sanitation? Twenty-seven years this week. I worked on the back for seven years. This is my 20th year driving.

Are you going to have a party? I might. Each year I treat myself to dinner.

How did you get started in the county sanitation department? Actually, one day I was sitting on the porch. I saw a supervisor riding down the street in a supervisor truck. I asked him were the county hiring. He said yes, and I need to put an application in now. Three weeks [after] that time, I was called for an interview. I was hired.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Smalley, with King, a pit bull available for adoption at www.fultonanimalservices.com

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Fulton County Animal Control officer Robert Smalley doesn’t just catch dogs. He’s a member of law enforcement. He writes tickets, which can even lead to prison time.

How long have you been in animal control?
Twenty years.

How did you get started?
I was impressed when watching animal-control officers handle coyotes and bears in California. I lived there at the time. So, when I moved to Atlanta, I answered an ad.

Have you ever seen a dogfight?
Yes, evidence of dogfights. They disperse when they know we’re coming. I look for scarring, scratching, their demeanor and animal behavior. … [There is] a lot of dogfighting in Atlanta. In northwest and southeast Atlanta [especially], mostly [in] the city, because of the income and they can hide them.

What type of animal behavior do you see?
They cower, [do] not look at you. One’s been doing it a lot will charge — no warning.

Why do they cower?
They aren’t aggressive. [The owners] can’t use them for fighting [so] they beat them, and throw them in the street if they don’t kill them. [The dogs] live in deplorable conditions, low-income housing. They can’t pay their rent, can’t feed their families, but are taking care of the dogs. If the dogs are abused, there is abuse in the home; beating their wives or their children.

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