Mik Arkesteyn may not have grown up in Williams Lake, but there’s no doubt the city has grown on her.
Originally from Kamloops, Arkesteyn says she was never one to seek the outdoors, instead spending most of her youth competing in sports such as volleyball and swimming. Raised by a “typical suburban city family,” moving to Williams Lake was probably the last thing she would have expected from her future self, much less joining the lakecity’s fire department.
Yet here she is today, recently promoted to captain with the Williams Lake Fire Department (WLFD) and a true local if you’ve ever seen one. Arkesteyn continues to swim in her spare time, but she’s also discovered a love for fishing, backpacking and mountain biking since she’s moved to our natural paradise. In fact, she now finds herself turning to the outdoors when things get tough.
“If I’m having a bad day I need to get outside...moving your body is so incredibly healing,” she said.
What brought Arkesteyn to Williams Lake was itself an unexpected turn of events. When still a Kamloops suburban gal, her dreams for the future involved tall city buildings shimmering in the sunlight. More than a vision of living in the big city, Arkesteyn wanted to be the one designing those skyscrapers. She decided to pursue a career in architecture, taking a three-year program at Thompson Rivers University and a summer internship before her "rose-coloured glasses" were shed.
"I realized it's a lot of office work and I'm not built for sitting in an office my whole life," she said. After graduating in 2012, she took the first job offered to her by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI), moving to Williams Lake in the process.
Arkesteyn continues to work with MOTI today as a bridge inspector, travelling across the Cariboo to view bridges, culverts and pedestrian tunnels.
"I think it's the coolest job," she said. "I get to be outside a lot...and see a lot of really cool country."
In 2014, Arkesteyn was looking for a way to integrate into the community. She joined the WLFD, thinking she might work as a firefighter for a few years before moving on. Eleven years later, Arkesteyn couldn’t be happier with the way things have turned out.
“I joined with seriously zero life skills...so it was a big learning curve for me,” she said. But Arkesteyn isn’t one to back down from a challenge, in fact, she said she loves to push herself. She took every course she could, and immediately learned she needed to get stronger to do the job right.
Firefighting can be very dangerous and tough, but: “the job doesn’t change no matter what gender you are,” she said. “I recognized...I wasn’t strong enough, so I made sure I got strong enough.”
Arkesteyn isn’t just talking about physical strength either. With a job like firefighting, you need to be prepared for the worst, which means you need to care for your mental health as well.
“I’m a firm believer that you owe it to your crew and community to be...mentally sound and physically capable of anything that gets thrown at you,” she said. In fact, Arkesteyn has dedicated the past 11 years to strengthening both elements of her health while pestering her colleagues to do the same.
“That’s a hill I’m always willing to die on,” she said about the importance of prioritizing mental and physical health.
Exercising and spending time outside has been pivotal in her journey as a firefighter, as well as having a strong support network. Luckily, Arkesteyn has a supportive partner at home, but has also found strength within her team.
Referring to her team as a second family, Arkesteyn said she’s very lucky: “if we didn’t have such a strong supportive group of men that truly wants to see women succeed and constantly elevate them, it would be a lot harder for people like me.”
Despite being a woman in a male-dominated field, she said she’s only felt inspired by her team who make her feel as though she belongs.
“They make it a place that you truly want to be, and you feel comfortable sucking at something and getting better at it,” she said. But that’s not the case everywhere. Arkesteyn said she knows other female firefighters around the province, many of whom their experiences are a stark contrast to hers.
“I know a lot of girls struggle...they have people there that clearly don’t want them there,” Arkesteyn said. “I think some females in male-dominated industries, they feel it every day, and I never feel it, and that’s awesome.”
Because of this, Arkesteyn said she doesn’t take her team for granted. It’s not everywhere, she said, that fire departments are so welcoming to women, and she added “I’m not sure it ever will be everywhere.”
In Williams Lake, there are nine women on the fire department, which Chief Evan Dean said makes up about 25 per cent of the crew. One female firefighter, Judy Felker, is celebrating 25 years with WLFD.
Along with attending weekly training and being prepared to answer emergencies, Arkesteyn helps train her colleagues to drive fire trucks. She’s been doing this since 2019 and said she’s passionate about helping those scared to manoeuvre the big trucks to expand their skills and comfort levels.
Arkesteyn too, has been challenging her comfort zone having been promoted from lieutenant to captain about one month ago. Her new role involves more command, and Arkesteyn said she has moved from focusing “on the ground...into stepping back and seeing a big picture.”
“Instead of driving or being more in the fire, I tend to be outside organizing people or...tactics,” she said.
Sometimes difficult and sad, other times fun and exhilarating, Arkesteyn said she loves the job and the team that comes with it.
Hiking through the bush to find wildland fires, meeting dogs during calls, finding camaraderie with her crew and being there for the community is why she does it.
It’s “such a good feeling,” she said, “to be able to...make someone’s worst day a little bit better.”
