Karen Fry has climbed Nanaimo Fire Rescue’s career ladder to become fire chief.
Fry took over from former chief Craig Richardson, who retired in July, and she was officially announced as Nanaimo’s new fire chief Aug. 17. She was was recently elected to the board of directors for the B.C. Fire Chiefs Association as the deputy career director.
“I’m not generally a really emotional person, but really on Friday I took a step back for a couple minutes,” Fry said.
It was a moment to review the decisions she made throughout her life that ultimately led to this point in her career.
“The choices you’ve made along the way, in your life or your career that take a turn and eventually it’s led me here and each decision might have played a different role.”
Fry was born in Port Alberni and grew up on the Island. Her parents both worked full-time, so she and her brother were “latch-key kids” raised to be independent.
Fry started her career with Nanaimo Fire Rescue and worked in the Harbour City until she took a position as a deputy chief in Surrey, a department of 500 staff and firefighters, which Fry said is one of North America’s most progressive fire departments, has strong leadership and offered an array of responsibilities and experiences.
Returning to Nanaimo offered an even broader scope of responsibilities and a better balance of work and lifestyle, which includes living close to two of her children.
Fry, a mother of five, credits her success partly to strong role models of women she’s known who have worked hard and excelled in their jobs, but doesn’t view herself as different from her male colleagues.
“Maybe when I first became a chief it was a lot more noticeable, like, back in 2006, but I think across the province all the other people in the fire service already know me now … I’ve had a lot of opportunity to prove myself, to demonstrate my abilities, to build relationships, so to them it’s not a big deal,” she said. “I think, to them, they see growth in the organization and in the service itself.”
More women are becoming front-line firefighters, but expanding organizational diversity isn’t just about gender. With the broadening demands asked of first responders – 65 per cent of all service calls are for medical aids – firefighters must maintain a high degree of physical fitness, possess a range of skills, commitment to service and other attributes.
“It’s about culture too and until people start seeing themselves represented within that organization, they’re not going to envision themselves being in it,” Fry said. “So as far as me being a female chief … I hope it’s going to inspire a lot of other people of all diverse groups, to think that there’s opportunities.”
With fire department budgets continually rising across the province, Fry recognizes the need to raise the fire department’s value through increased community interaction and education about fire prevention to protect both Nanaimo’s firefighters and most vulnerable citizens and firefighters.
“They’re the ones that need our help, whether it’s the seniors, the at-risk individuals, the low socio-economic, the single-parent households … making sure that if there’s an emergency Nanaimo Fire Rescue is there in their time of need … that we’re going to be there when they don’t know who else to call.”
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