Staff Profiles
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| Jeff Lee,
Fire Inspector |
Jeff came to
the District in 2006 after working about 14 years with the
Corvallis Fire Department, 11 of which was in the role of
Fire Prevention Assistant. Jeff notes that he had an
interest in the fire service as long as he can remember. He
recalls childhood visits to family members in San Francisco
who happened to live next to a fire station. “The lights and
sirens drew me in,” he states. Jeff was a Safety Studies
major at Oregon State University. As part of that program,
he completed an internship with Portland Fire and Rescue
over the course of a summer. This gave him several
opportunities to do ride-a-longs with crews, which only
confirmed his desire to be a part of the fire service. Upon
graduating from OSU, Jeff completed the EMT program at
Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon. With his
EMT-Intermediate certification, he began volunteering with
Corvallis Fire, his hometown department. He tested
successfully with Corvallis Fire and began line firefighting
with that department.
“I did a lot of engine company inspections, and found I
really enjoyed that aspect of the job,” Jeff recalls. He
notes that he found doing inspections used a skill set
better matched to his interests. “And, I didn’t have to get
up in the middle of the night,” he adds. While still living
in Corvallis, Jeff jumped at the opportunity with TVF&R when
it became available. Jeff was one of several candidates who
tested for the newly created Fire Inspector position at
TVF&R.
When asked what aspects of Prevention he finds attractive,
Jeff notes that in the course of his day-to-day work, “I get
to meet interesting people and learn about how things are
manufactured. It’s like a field trip every day!” Jeff
remarks that he enjoys being part of a great team. “I really
have a terrific group of co-workers,” he states.
Working in Prevention is not without its challenges, Jeff
notes. “I sometimes return to a business owner three or four
times to follow up on a violation, and might not see any
change but instead get excuses.” That’s when the skills of
flexibility, customer service and decisiveness must
converge. Jeff notes that the size of TVF&R is both a
blessing and a challenge. While the District’s size offers a
number of specialties not found at smaller departments, it
also includes a large number of jurisdictions within its
service-area boundaries. “You have to develop relationships
with officials from all of those jurisdictions.”
Jeff appreciates how his firefighter background has aided
his work as a Fire Inspector. “Knowing how a fire reacts and
burns has really helped me appreciate the consequences of
violations. It’s given me some insight into the way codes
are written the way they are.” |
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Lydia
Woodman, Firefighter Paramedic
Lydia came on board
TVF&R as a Firefighter (EMT-Basic) in 2002, though has since
completed a paramedic program through an OHSU-TVF&R partnership.
Her desire to become a firefighter developed while she was attending
school at Mount Hood Community College. She was in charge of the
student-run Wild Side Outdoor Program which sponsored outdoor
trips. Each trip required an EMT, and Lydia always struggled to
find an EMT for each trip. “So I just decided to get an EMT-Basic
myself,” she states. She found most of her classmates had career
goals of joining the Fire Service. At the urging of some friends,
she approached the station at her local fire department and asked if
she could volunteer. “They just happened to be starting a volunteer
academy that week and said ‘See you this Saturday!’” she relates.
After a year of volunteering at Hoodland Fire District, she decided
to pursue an Associate’s degree in Fire Science at Chemeketa
Community College. While in this program, she interned at Woodburn
Fire District, living at the firehouse and earning a small stipend.
“I’m not one of
those who always dreamed of being a firefighter,” Lydia states. “I
come from a union home and wanted to have a stable career with good
benefits.” Lydia notes that she’s
always been a social person and has enjoyed team sports. “One of
the things about the fire service I love most is the teamwork. You
have to work together and communicate well with each other to
accomplish tasks. When you work together to put your training into
practice and can then celebrate an accomplishment together, there’s
a lot of bonding in that.”
Lydia has found few
challenges that she’s not been able to overcome, though does
consider the challenge she may one day face if she decides to start
a family and balance the roles of mother and firefighter working a
24-hour shift. “That’s got to be difficult, but I’ve talked to
women firefighters who say it works.” Lydia also relates that she
frequently faces stereotypes about women among members of the public
that require a great deal of patience. “Some people just aren’t used
to seeing women in firefighting roles,” she notes. Fortunately,
she’s found a lot of support at TVF&R. “I was attracted to TVF&R
because I had heard it was a progressive fire district. Having a
healthy work environment was important to me. TVF&R has an
atmosphere that enables me to go the extra mile for our customers.
Not only is an expectation for us to treat all customers we
encounter with care, it is an environment that cultivates
compassion. It’s easy to be content in your career when you’re in
an atmosphere like that.”
What’s in Lydia’s
future at TVF&R? She notes that she may soon seek to be an
Apparatus Operator, perhaps even a company officer in 5 or so
years. “I’m in no hurry, though,” she follows. “I plan to retire
here.”
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