U of Montana Student Helps Lead the Way for Women Firefighters

From classrooms to blazing fields, a new program is changing the game for women ready to embrace the heat of wildland firefighting.

That's what Libby Riddle with UM News Service tells about University of Montana grad student Mikaela Balkind. When she arrived at UM for her master’s work studying fire ecology, she noticed the forestry and fire clubs that prepare students for wildfire careers were still very male dominated.

EMBRACING THE CHALLENGE

Mikaela spoke with female students who expressed that despite the college’s opportunities to participate in wildfire activities, they still felt intimidated. She worked with Valentijn Hoff, the interim director of UM’s Fire Center, to secure funding for a wildfire training specifically for young women. In this second year putting on the training, she had over 50 applicants from all over the country.

THEY HAD WHAT IT TOOK

One of Balkind’s main goals for the four-day training was to create pathways for women to apply for wildland fire jobs. Participants completed all the necessary requirements for the “red card” certification, which qualifies them to work as a wildland firefighter in the U.S. This involved 32 hours of classroom learning plus a field experience and the pack test. The trainees also participated in a prescribed burn, where they learned to use drip torches and properly operate a fire engine.

The participants spent much of their classroom time learning from female fire professionals. Balkind wanted to introduce participants to the variety of possible careers in fire, so she invited women who worked on hotshot crews, women who study fire ecology and even a mental health professional employed by the U.S. Forest Service’s emergency mental health response team who works closely with firefighters.

Congratulations to Mikaela Balkind for being such an amazing inspiration and a truly great Griz! Find out more about her fascinating story here.