Women Supporting Women in Fire Service
About 45 to 50 professional women firefighters from around the country took part at the Alameda County Fire Department training facility in San Leandro this past weekend.
Female firefighters from across the country participated in a two-day, hands-on training event this past weekend where other seasoned female firefighters trained them in an encouraging, safe, and supportive environment.
About 45 to 50 professional women firefighters and volunteers from the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Washington State, Alaska, and Texas took part at the Alameda County Fire Department training facility in San Leandro. Participants trained in small groups and got a chance to sharpen their skills, including fighting a live fire, removing people from car crashes, and other rescue situations.
The event, entitled “Women and Fire,” is held every other year and typically is hosted in Washington state. This year, several Bay Area agencies expressed interest, and Alameda County Fire offered to host.
“My first real instructor opportunity was at a Women and Fire event,” said Captain Katy Erhardt with the Alameda County Fire Department. “I was paired with a Captain from Los Angeles who mentored me and pushed me. Now, I am a training captain, teaching at a college, and running the coordination for this event.”
Being a woman in a predominantly male field has its challenges. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that women comprise 4 percent of career firefighting positions. Those participating in this training come away with education, experience, and support for fire service women.
“We have people with six months of experience learning from those with 20 years of experience,” said Captain Erhardt. “It’s awesome to have these women teaching each other and getting them to enhance their professional development and firefighting skills. Much of the training is also tailored to the firefighter’s experience. For example, we’ll ask them if they have pulled a line [a fire hose] into an interior fire… yes or no. And if they have, then we work on more advanced techniques.”
Captain Erhardt also stresses the role of the fire department as a community service and its importance to reflect the diversity of the community it serves.
“Only about four percent of the calls we get are for actual house fires. We go to wildfires. We respond to power lines that have fallen,” Captain Erhardt said. “But I’ve been to some calls where all it takes is to have somebody listening to them. Perhaps they lost a family member, and all they need for you to be is empathetic.”
Two non-profit organizations sponsored the event: Camp Blaze, a Seattle, Washington group that holds leadership camps and mentorship opportunities for young women in fire service, and NorCal Women in the Fire Service, which has hosted four girls' fire camps for local teenagers with the assistance of local fire agencies and state groups.
“Training opportunities such as this weekend’s Women and Fire event are essential for helping women in the fire service to network, connect, and train with other female fire personnel across a broader spectrum,” said Jenn Panko, Vice President of NorCal Women in the Fire Service and Battalion Chief with the Santa Clara Fire Department. “This helps support inclusivity and opportunity and encourages women in the profession to demonstrate leadership.”