Just three years after America sent its first female astronaut into space — Sally Ride, way back in 1983 — another trailblazer broke into the ranks of another occupation in Suffolk that had always been considered a man’s job.

In July 1986, Martina Campbell became the first female firefighter in the Suffolk fire department. On Monday, she marked herself on duty at Suffolk Fire and Rescue for the last time, having opted for retirement 31 years after that first hard day of work in a place where many probably wished she would not have been present.

Trailblazers, by definition, do things that are hard, and breaking into the ranks of firefighters in a conservative southern town surely came with its share of challenges.

There were the firefighters who worried that they would have to pull Campbell’s weight. There were the wives of some firefighters, who told their husbands not to work fires with Campbell, because they didn’t want the men to get killed trying to look after her. And, since Campbell is black, there was surely some degree of racial tension, as well.

But she persevered.

Along the way, Campbell earned the respect of her fellow firefighters and the appreciation of the city she served with them.

Campbell’s interest in firefighting was spurred by a fire at her family’s home in New York when she was young. There were no injuries, but the home suffered significant damage. As she watched the firefighters do their work, she was impressed, and a few years after she graduated from John Yeates High School in 1981, she decided to pursue the opportunity to help others the way her family had been helped back in New York.

It took some time for Campbell to earn the respect of her peers, but she is gracious about it as she thinks back on her career. “Anytime you’re the first of anything, you have to prove yourself,” she said this week in an interview with the Suffolk News-Herald.

Firefighting is still an occupation largely peopled by men. But Martina Campbell opened a door that can never be closed again. We thank her for her courage and wish her all the best in her retirement.