fire

BY PEYTON HARRIS, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Beth Fournier and Gwen Drilling Noe have always been passionate about serving their communities. From fire chaplain to firefighter captain, New Jersey to Idaho, these ZTA alumnae were drawn to the challenging life as

Beth, a 1992 graduate from Salisbury University (Theta Delta Chapter), had always been intrigued by the idea of being a volunteer firefighter. As a child, she watched her father serve as a firefighter and admired his bravery and dedication to the community. She volunteered with the canteen department to provide food and refreshments to the firefighters.

After graduating college, she received a Fire Officer 1 certification and moved to Paterson, New Jersey, to pursue her career. Unwittingly, she became the first female firefighter in the city. Fifteen years later, she became the department’s first female captain.

“I wasn’t here to be the first female. I just wanted to do the same job as everybody else, because my goal was to get on the job and just be a firefighter,” she says.

That goal didn’t come without challenges, Beth said. During her tenure, she sustained multiple injuries, including compromising both

Achilles’ heels. She also went through pregnancy on the job and ultimately, working a desk job within the department while pregnant taught her more about her profession.

One of her most memorable moments in her service was being off duty when a man dropped from a heart attack at the gym. With her training, Beth was able to use CPR and resuscitate him.

The greatest part of her job is the community. “Being in a sisterhood, as I was with ZTA, helped me to be a member of this brotherhood that is the fire service. So, it's almost like I went from one fraternity to another,” she says.

Gwen, a 1979 graduate from Arkansas Tech University (Theta Theta Chapter), felt called to some sort of service in 2013. She had worked with her church for half a decade but knew she belonged elsewhere. When her son began working as a firefighter, she joined the Nolensville, Tennessee, Volunteer Fire Department, initially as chaplain, and then trained as a firefighter and emergency medical responder.

As years passed, Gwen transitioned to solely working as a fire chaplain and in crisis response. In these roles, she works on-scene with families to connect them with the Red Cross and assist with notifying immediate family, as well as responding to psychological emergencies like suicide threats.

She also works in debriefings to serve other first responders and works as an advocate and informant for families after a loved one goes into cardiac arrest. One of the hardest tasks she sees is dealing with death and potential suicides.

“I spoke to a teen girl who survived an accident but saw one of her friends die. She was clearly traumatized, and it broke my heart to hear what she went through,” Gwen says. “I advised her mother to get her counseling. Two years later, I still think of her and wonder how she is. I've heard that two teens died by suicide after this incident and am so scared she was one of them.”

However, the job isn’t all gloom for Gwen. “The good moments are mostly after an incident where the family or first responder thanks me for being there,” she says. “It is a great feeling to know I have given firefighters the tools needed to get care. First responders see, hear, smell and touch things on a regular basis that most people do not. This affects us mentally and puts us at a high risk for suicide.”

Gwen’s days have no rhyme or reason; she can have quiet one day and a barrage of calls the next. In between responding to calls, she takes care of the boutique she runs, debriefs officers, leads training and checks in with crews.

Gwen says her primary sense of purpose in her job is to mitigate suicide risks within first responders. “In a 70-year lifespan, the average person sees one or two traumatic incidents, whereas in a 20-year career, a first responder will see 700, and it gets to us,” she says. “That's why I do what I do—to promote awareness of just how dangerous this job is and how easy it is to get help and get through.”