Firefighter Lanie Osborne made the commute from Grand Junction to Boulder County to spend Saturday honing skills and creating connections with other women in the industry. Despite the four-hour trip – and the cold, rainy weather – Osborne thought it was well worth the effort.
“The idea of being able to train with women was really cool,” Osborne said. “I was the only female in my fire academy. Knowing that you’re not the only one is nice. There are other people you can lean on and ask for advice.”
Osborne was one of around 75 firefighters who attended Saturday’s “Women in the Fire Service Skills Day.” The event, held at the Boulder County Regional Fire Training Center, pulled women from 40 fire departments all across Colorado and into Wyoming.
“Seeing women support women in this, and seeing how many people showed up regardless of these elements to train together, I think, is really powerful,” said event coordinator Stephanie Sovndal, an EMS coordinator with Boulder Rural Fire Rescue.
The event began a decade ago after Sovndal had the idea to bring other female firefighters together for training. As a the only career female firefighter at Boulder Rural Fire Rescue at the time, she thought it would be beneficial to learn how her female colleagues apply their own strengths to the field.
“I was newer to fire service at the time … and some of the techniques the guys were showing me didn’t translate quite as well,” Sovndal said.
The skills day went into hiatus for a few years, but Sovndal brought it back after the pandemic due to interest from Boulder Rural Fire Rescue’s training team. It has grown since then. Last year’s event had around 25 participants, and next year’s goal is to train at least 100.
This is also the first year the event has received sponsorship from local organizations. By covering covering costs for things like equipment and t-shirts, sponsors allowed the event to be put on entirely for free.
“We could offer it at no cost to these women, which is huge,” Sovndal said. “There are no extra barriers to keep women from being able to come here and feel really safe and confident.”
Held outside in the rain, Saturday’s training stations included forcible entry, hose management and setting up ladders for building rescues. Local towing companies donated five cars for vehicle extrication training.
Retired firefighter Alicia Welch, one of the event’s 14 instructors, taught participants about basement fires on Saturday. Welch said that by giving women their own space for this training, it shows them what’s possible among their female peers.
“I think it just changes the learning environment a little bit,” Welch said. “It lets them work in a setting (where) they can really focus. Because really, everybody is here because they want to be really good at their job. They don’t come out on days like this if they don’t care.”
In addition to Grand Junction, participants also traveled from fire departments in Crested Butte, Colorado Springs and the Denver metro area. Several attendees also came from Boulder County departments, including Mountain View Fire Rescue, the Lafayette Fire Department and the Nederland Fire Protection District.
Jill Luebke with the Louisville Fire District said she was most excited about the vehicle extrication training on Saturday.
“Typically, we only get to do that, like, once a year,” Luebke explained. “It’s a pretty special thing for us to all get to be out there and not have to fight the boys for the tools.”
Rebecca Jorgensen, a firefighter with Boulder Rural Fire Rescue, served as an instructor for the forced entry training this year. She said the skills day allows female firefighters to learn from each other, and she was excited to see so many women attend this year.
“I didn’t even realize that there were this many women in the area to network with,” Jorgensen said. “It is so empowering. You’re surrounded by all of these other people who look and do things like you do, and everybody just builds each other up.”
