Point Reyes Light- November 25, 1998
Woman volunteers rescue fire departments
With membership falling off in several of West Marin's volunteer fire departments, the traditionally male ranks are getting bolstered by a corps of gutsy women.
Volunteer departments in Bolinas, Stinson Beach, Inverness, and Nicasio all now have women on their roster.
Bolinas has about 20 volunteer firefighters, five of them women. "They're an invaluable asset," said Bolinas Fire Chief Kevin Hicks, "first as firefighters, and second, as women they often add a little something more to make the scene go better."
Said Inverness volunteer firefighter Eve Love, "It used to be that women weren't welcome on fire departments at all. Now they are, and it's an awesome thing. I think it's an honorable thing for a woman to do."
The town Tomales now has an all-male volunteer firefighting team, but the department would welcome some women, said Ron Alves, county fire captain at the Tomales firehouse. In fact, volunteers are in short supply throughout West Marin.
Hicks of Bolinas said he's noticed a sharp decline in the number of volunteers for his department, especially over the past five years.
"By and large, people can't volunteer and pay the mortgage on their homes," he said, noting that houses that sold for about $35,000 in the 1970s are now on the market for $350,000.
"Back then, there was a looser lifestyle that enabled people to respond to fire calls during the day and night. Now, everybody is working. Or, they've moved over the hill to find cheaper housing," he said.
"We haven't solved this economic problem - we're fighting it. Without our paid personnel supporting our volunteers, we'd be functionless."
West Marin must rely on its own resources when disaster strikes because the county emergency crews can often be far away or spread out on other calls when needed. Volunteers help in a variety of ways - fighting fires, responding to accidents, and helping out in emergency medical calls.
One outstanding volunteer is Anita Brown, 32, who serves as volunteer assistant chief and district secretary for the Bolinas department.
"No one ever looks at me and assumes I'm a firefighter," Brown said, laughing. "It's not considered a woman's job - yet."
Firefighting has long been considered a man's job, she said, mostly because it requires lifting heavy hoses, ladders, and pulling bodies out of danger.
While men may have more upper body strength than women, she said, the "gender thing" isn't even considered when it comes time to handle an emergency.
The desire to help is the most important factor in being a firefighter, she said, adding that her crew is only rarely called out to put out a fire. Medical calls account for 60 percent of all calls, followed by automobile accidents and requests for general help.
Brown said her training as an Emergency Medical Technician has paid off. "The whole reason I became an EMT is because I was in a car accident when I was 19 with my best friend, who smashed her head against a window. And I couldn't do anything. All I could do was sit there and say, 'duh.'"
Now, aside from helping such victims, Brown also helps her fellow volunteers, teaching them how to perform CPR and how to drive fire engines.
Nicasio volunteer firefighter Leslie Gompertz, 43, remembers the first time she drove an engine.
"I broke it," she said. "I was driving the wildland engine up Camino Margarita [the road that runs up the Rancho Santa Margarita subdivision in Nicasio], and after I stopped to look at an unusual geographic feature, the drive shaft snapped and fell to the ground."
Gompertz was able to maneuver the vehicle back to the town square. However, she said, laughing, "the end result was my being called 'Axle' for the rest of my life."
Nickname notwithstanding, she said she completed the rest of her training and went on to become an EMT without attracting too much attention.
Most volunteer fire departments require a one-year training program, attendance at several drills each month, basic first-aid skills, and in-depth knowledge of the equipment, Gompertz said.
While the training was rigorous, she said hopeful volunteers shouldn't be put off. "I'm not a buff-muffin by any means. If you're in relatively good shape, you can do it."
Some departments can accommodate volunteers who prefer to stay out of the flames, she added. "You don't necessarily have to fight fires to be helpful. There are lots of other ways to offer assistance, such as providing engine maintenance, updating disaster records for the town, arranging the CPR courses, and doing paperwork."
It's a community service suitable for almost anyone, from young adults to seniors, she said. Nearly half of Nicasio's 13 active volunteer firefighters are women who range in age between their 20s and 60s.
Inverness' volunteer fire department may have the youngest woman on its crew.
Eve Love, 19, said she's wanted to fight fires ever since she was a toddler. "Most people don't get why I do it. Most people think of a firefighter as a big man with a beard, not a teenage girl. But it doesn't matter who's on the department, just as long as the work gets done."
Why does she do it? "It makes you feel really good, when you're doing something completely for the community. It's totally unselfish. Plus, it's like being part of a big family."
Inverness Fire Chief Michael Meszaros said he's grateful for new, young members such as Eve.
"It's a real difficulty now to get anyone under the age of 35," Meszaros said. "There's a cost-of-living increase, and young people often can't afford to rent here, let alone buy a house here."
Plus, he said, people in their 20s are fairly mobile, juggling jobs and college, and often starting new families.
Even the most eager young people just don't have the time to report for drills and respond to calls, he added. Most volunteers in West Marin put in an average of three to five hours per week, and more in the event of crisis.
When asked how she manages to work and volunteer, Love said she simply doesn't take jobs that would keep her away from the firehouse.
She conceded, however, that career choices are limited for those sharing her interest, unless they want to become professional firefighters. "I hope to turn this into a career," she said, explaining that she intends to join Santa Rosa Junior College's Firefighter I Academy next year.
EMT and firefighter Tommye Jarvis has been volunteering for the Stinson Beach department for 10 years, and is now one of four women on the 35-member crew.
Jarvis, 50, said she's always enjoyed "equal treatment" at the Stinson firehouse, but said that professional women firefighters have not been accepted as equal to men until recently.
"Anytime a woman takes up something she hasn't done before, she's not treated as an equal," Jarvis said. "Sometimes she's left to fall on her face."
Yet West Marin's volunteer fire departments have been exceptionally welcoming to women, in a county that employs few female paid firefighters, noted Brown of Bolinas.
Jarvis said she's thankful to have found a way to serve her community. "Everybody gives back to the town - there are many unsung heroes who do more than I. But this is my way of giving back."
Stinson firefighters are now selling tickets for their only annual fundraiser, the Firemen's Ball, which will be held from 9 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Stinson Beach Community Center.