By: Mark Vest | Farmington Press | Published June 14, 2024
FARMINGTON HILLS — Women who have considered exploring a career as a first responder are being offered a potentially life-changing opportunity by the city of Farmington Hills.
The Farmington Hills Police Department and Fire Department are scheduled to host a two-day workshop that gives women an opportunity to explore both of those fields as potential career choices.
Both workshops are set to run 10 a.m.-2 p.m., with the first being hosted by the Police Department June 26, followed by the Fire Department June 27.
The third annual “Blue, Red and You” workshop is free for women 19 and up.
Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King said that the department has an extensive recruitment program.
He estimated that approximately five women have gone on to employment in Farmington Hills after attending the workshop.
“We wanted to focus this on another avenue to diversify our workforce, strengthen our workforce, (and) fill needed holes throughout our public safety services,” King said. “This has been extremely beneficial. … It is primarily taught by female officers, dispatchers and firefighters, because they have the most appropriate perspective on everything we’re teaching.”
The workshop teaches about the educational requirements for a career as a first responder, as well as what can be expected in terms of pay, benefits, training and equipment.
According to Fire Chief Jon Unruh, the workshop is an opportunity for women to learn what fire service is about.
“They’ll get a chance to hear what a day in the life of a female firefighter is,” Unruh said. “They’ll be able to rotate to different skills areas, where they’ll get a chance to see what hose lines are all about, how water comes out of a fire truck (and) one and two-person techniques for moving hose-lines around. … They get an opportunity to meet females that are in fire service and (learn) how successful they are, how fun of an occupation it really is, and get a little snippet or introduction … to the occupation.”
According to Unruh, attendees will have an opportunity to don full gear and participate in the Fire Department obstacle course. They will also crawl around in a “smoked” environment in a confined space.
“The last portion will be stretching a charged fire hose and spraying water,” Unruh said. “Now we end the day with a lot of fun, because we’ll have our tower truck here, and we’ll get to have the (participants) go ride the truck to 100-plus feet up and get a chance to enjoy the sights of Farmington Hills.”
Madison Gardenhire, who has been a full-time paramedic/firefighter for the city of Farmington Hills for more than a year, is slated to attend the workshop.
“Blue Red and You is (an) opportunity for participants to get a first-hand look on what it’s like to be a member,” Gardenhire said. “My colleagues and I like to share and focus on giving the participants an outlook on how it is to be a woman in the fire service, and through that outlook we will include what motivated us to join the fire service and challenges we faced and were able to overcome. … With proper training and technique, they will be able to master different aspects of the job, whether it be handling a fire hose, patient movement or maneuvering our fire gear.”
Liana Petroni has been a cadet with the Farmington Hills Police Department for approximately a year and a half.
She personally attended a workshop approximately two years ago.
Petroni is a proponent of the role women can play in law enforcement.
“For those who are interested in law enforcement, it’s really important that we encourage more women into the field,” she said. “There’s so many statistics that show women have higher levels of interpersonal communication skills, which is really effective at policing, because you can just talk to people, and it goes better for females. A lot of people in the community are more willing to cooperate with female officers because they give a sense of, like, comfort. It’s more comfortable talking to a female officer.”
One of Kings’ aspirations is to make the workshop as transparent as possible.
“We expose them to all aspects of the job, from road patrol to investigations, administration training, field training, background,” he said. “When somebody’s going through a background in law enforcement, it’s a pretty intense process. … We even prepare them for that aspect, so there’s no surprises. When they apply with the Farmington Hills Police Department, they know exactly the good and the challenges that are associated with our agency.”
Although a career in law enforcement can mean seeing just how “mean and cruel a human being can be to another human being,” from Kings’ perspective, it is the “greatest profession on the face of the earth,” and he has an opinion as to where Farmington Hills ranks in the pecking order.
“This is the best Police Department on the face of the earth,” King said.
According to Unruh, the goal of the workshop is to grab the attention and interest of attendees, along with helping them to succeed in the occupation of firefighting, if that is a path they want to take.
He said there are currently over 100 firefighters working for the city, seven of them women.
Approximately five of them may be at the workshop to share insight about the profession and what is required to be a part of it.
According to King, the Farmington Hills Police Department has 165 employees, 51 women.
Unruh shared what attendees can get out of attending the workshop.
“If anybody even has a small amount of interest (in) being a police officer or firefighter, I really encourage them to participate in this event, because it’ll be very educational, and our goal is for the participants to have a good time as well,” he said.
Although individuals are encouraged to attend the workshop on both days, according to King, it is not a requirement, as some may only have an interest in one of the fields as a potential occupation.
From his perspective, the workshop is an opportunity for attendees to gain further insight into a potential career before investing time and money at the collegiate level.
“This is not about what the Farmington Hills Police Department wants for them. This is about what they want in a career … and what the Farmington Hills Police Department and/or Fire Department has to offer them,” King said. “It’s a transactional relationship. … We’re showing them who we are, what we’re all about, what we have to offer, and they are showing us who they are, what they are about, (and) what they have to offer us.”
According to a press release, the workshop is limited to 20 participants, with lunch provided.
Those interested should RSVP no later than June 24 by calling (248) 871-2750 or sending an email to crimeprevention@fhgov.com.