FIGHTING FIRES sparks inspiration

By Peyton Harris, Contributing Writer

Jordyn Miller has kept a unique pastime for the last six years—working as a volunteer firefighter. Two of her friends were in the cadet program, so teenage Jordyn began to spend a lot of her time with them at the station.

“One of the guys basically told me, ‘Well, if you’re gonna keep showing up, you might as well get on the fire department.’ And then I haven’t really left,” she says. Jordyn credits her interest in firefighting to the department’s camaraderie, calling them her “second family.”

A recent graduate of University of Evansville and member of Zeta Alpha Chapter, Jordyn participates in weekly meetings with the department. Each month, she receives a new task, such as doing inventory on the trucks or training. When the department has a fire call in the area, she tries to go if her schedule allows it.

One of the most significant challenges Jordyn has faced in her experience is overcoming gender obstacles. She says while her department includes other women and is very respectful, she knows other departments that aren’t as welcoming to women.

“My department’s really good about it, but whenever we do responses with other departments, they kind of look down on us,” she says.

Jordyn sees significant differences between firefighters on television and the actual job in rural Chandler, Indiana. “In the area where I live, it’s not disasters and emergencies all the time. We get a lot of grass fires. If we do get a structure fire, it’s usually a barn or something like that. And it’s not as common as the movies make it seem,” she says.

One of the greatest benefits of Jordyn’s tenure with the department is the intersection of her studies and volunteering. “Being in that fast-paced emergency medicine situation definitely inspired me to pursue a degree in nursing,” she says. Her county has only a few ambulances, so firefighters must be medically trained to make emergency runs until an ambulance can arrive. Those experiences inspired her desire to work in the emergency room, where she began her nursing career after graduation this past May.

Badges must be ordered through Zeta Tau Alpha International Office.