Girls on fire

HARRISON — A storm that rolled through North Idaho in early June kept first responders busy.

East Side Fire District Deputy Chief Charlotte Pegoraro had several calls happening at once as she determined the number of firefighters to send to each call, which fire engines should go where and what personnel were available.

“Managing a family has made me exceptionally good at that,” Pegoraro said Tuesday. “Knowing where everybody is at all times, knowing who’s safe, knowing who has what going on. Those skills we build as mothers and as people who are responsible for managing so many things at once makes us exceptionally good at doing certain things."

Women comprise about a third of East Side Fire's all-volunteer department and about 75% of its emergency medical services team.

They’re wives, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers.

They’re teachers, creative writers, occupational therapists, computer programmers and retired probation supervisors. Three of them are breast cancer survivors.

And they’re firefighters, fire inspectors, emergency medical technicians and first responders who come to the rescue of nearly 2,000 people across 90 square miles, three fire stations and one boathouse station in Harrison.

“We as volunteers, some of us are working, some of us are retired. We come from all over the place,” said Jo Moncrief, East Side Fire's community relations officer. "We each bring our own experiences, which I think makes us a better, rounded team."

The ladies of East Side Fire range in age from 19 to 72. Carlene Cada, a firefighter and emergency medical services responder, was a pharmacist for 33 years before joining the team in 2008 one year after moving across the street from the Arrow Point Station. Another lady moved into the neighborhood at the same time.

"We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to work in the fire department?’ So we just both started," Cada said.

Capt. Kathy Flint, who retired in 2019 after 20 years of service, was at the Arrow Point Station at that time. Cada and her friend tripled the female presence when they joined.

“Actually, they did more than that,” volunteer firefighter Lori Ador said. “One of our firefighters lives on (Highway) 97 and he would be up in his garage and he said he saw a fire engine go by with these two gray-haired senior women."

This motivated the man to join the department.

"If the senior women can do it, he can too," Ador said.

While many of East Side's female first responders are of smaller stature, they are not deterred by the duties they are called to perform.

“We’re all just as tough if not more tough than the guys, and you know, they can’t look bad in front of us,” Pegoraro said.

It can be daunting to be the first on the scene to a 3 a.m. call to a home in the middle of the woods. Many times, the calls are for medical services for aging residents who have fallen or are experiencing health emergencies.

Deputy EMS Chief Tina Botai, who manages a local pain clinic for her day job, said a switch turns on in her brain that keeps her going when she answers those calls.

"You just do it. You just go in and do it,” she said, adding that the work of the East Side crew is vital to providing quick and proper care for those patients.

Botai said their job is to calm the chaos.

"It’s the satisfaction of helping people in their darkest need,” she said. "You're saving a life."

The women of East Side Fire work alongside their male counterparts to accomplish their goals, sharing a kinship as they work for the greater good of their community.

During trainings, Pegoraro said she never feels like the token girl in the room.

“I have had zero pushback from the men in our department for taking leadership, taking instruction, taking command, from me, and I think it’s pretty cool,” she said. “They’ve always been very open to taking leadership from a woman, which I can’t say is that common in some of the more paid positions or career positions.”

The male-female balance has many upsides, including the men sharing the burden of lifting heavy equipment and carrying patients and the women providing their support to interact with younger or female patients who are apprehensive about dealing with men.

The women also stick together through a sisterhood only found among firefighting crews.

"When we’re really doing these things that are bigger, scarier, more intimidating, it’s nice to have our other ladies there," Pegoraro said, "and somebody who knows how hard it is to go to the bathroom when you’re spending nine hours on a structure fire."

These firefighting females also serve as role models for little girls who may someday follow in their boot steps.

“I’m a role model to high schoolers for sure,” said firefighter and EMT Birgid Niedenzu, who is a high school teacher for her day job.

"I always start off the year with, 'I’m a firefighter and an EMT, so I’ve got you, I’ve got all your backs — all you diabetics and allergic reactions,” she said.

Firefighter Robin Sand shared how at last year's annual East Side pancake breakfast, a kindergarten-aged girl came to the event with her own little fire suit that read "chief" on the back.

"I grabbed my jacket and put it around her," Sand said. "She wanted the whole thing. She wanted to put her feet in my boots."

Most of the women work at the Arrow Point station while one, Ador, works on the Morgan Station on Elk Road. She joked that the mostly male-manned station would never have soap or toilet paper if she wasn't there to keep it stocked.

“Of course, we pull more weight than they do," she said, smiling.

East Side Fire Chief Jerry Lynn said the ladies of East Side are truly wonderful.

"It wouldn’t work without them," he said.

The East Side Fire District will host its annual pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Arrow Point Station, 20338 S. Highway 97, Harrison. $5 donations are suggested. The morning will include breakfast, 50-50 drawings and East Side Fire items for sale.