Miss. Fire Department Hires 20-Year-Old Female Firefighter

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo

Dec. 11—STARKVILLE—It is easy to pick out Starkville's newest firefighter—she's the petite blond with a big heart.

The last time the Starkville Fire Department had a female firefighter (1995), 20-year-old Bethany Allen was not even born. All that changed in early November when the Mississippi State University sophomore was hired and began working a full-time shift at Station 1 on East Lampkin Street in downtown Starkville.

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a detective or a fireman," Allen said. "I had a lot of local hero jobs in mind, but I really liked the physical fitness side of firefighting.

"Growing up, we lived next door to a fire station and I saw them all the time. I knew I wanted to do something in fire safety. I wanted to be able to be there for people, to help them"

At first, her desire to help people manifested in a psychology major in college to become a therapist. But at college, her work as a personal trainer got her noticed at a local gym. After a discussion with SFD Lt. Todd Palmer, she began working out with Palmer's shift at Station 2 on Airport Road in July.

When Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough learned Allen and another female had an interest in joining the department, he set up a mock tryout in September to give them a good idea of the things expected from a full-time firefighter.

At the training center at Station 3, Allen had to climb the five-story tower and pull up a heavy rope, drag a life-sized dummy and go through a confined space course. The latter made up her mind.

"Going through a tunnel with your face mask blacked out, you couldn't see anything," Allen said. "You had to follow the fire hose. My adrenaline was pumping, just like it would in a real fire.

"I just loved it. It made me excited. You had to use both your brain and your body to get from Point A to Point B. It was a test, but it was not 'the' test. It gave us a good look at what we needed to do and work on."

One thing she knew she had to work on was handling the 165-pound dummy.

"At first, I didn't know how to grasp it. And it is heavy," Allen said. "Every time I would go to Station 2, I would drag a 170-pound tire back and forth over and over. Now the dummy is one of my best things."

In addition to building up her physical strength, Allen had to learn how to do new tasks that are required of firefighters. That includes the fireman's carry, where she has to carry someone draped over her shoulders.

"One of the guys took me to a high school stadium for the fireman's carry," Allen said. "At first I said, 'No way.' I'm just over 100 pounds and he was like 200. I didn't think I could do it, but next thing I am carrying him up and down the stairs.

"A lot of it is technique and adjusting the weight to maintain your balance. If the person doesn't know what they are doing, they will shift too far forward and you can get off-balanced and fall."

While she is a full-time employee, she has not gone through the state fire academy to be certified as a firefighter. Because of that, Allen's duties are limited at this point.

"I can't go into a building if it is an active fire," Allen said. "I will catch the hydrant. If it's just smoke, I can go in.

"(In early December), we had a small grass fire and they let me have the hose. I used the entire (500 gallons of water) on the truck. It should have only taken a small amount of water, but I was excited."

When her station responded to a commercial building fire last week, she got to go inside a smoke filled building.

"It was awesome. It was just smoke, but it was one step closer," Allen said.

The plan is for Allen to attend the seven-week basic firefighter course in the spring of 2018 at the state fire academy in Pearl. That will be followed by EMT training at East Mississippi Community College in Mayhew.

Allen, who got married this summer, is currently a part-time student at MSU. The department has been very accommodating with her schedule. In the spring, she will take a full-load of courses online.