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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 30, 2016     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 30, 2016
 
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; Page A-26 - She#on-Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 30, 2016 .S continued from page A-23 "Laura's 5 foot 3, inches, 5-foot-4, maybe, and she's not very big, but she's right up there with the best of them," said Beau Bakken, North Mason Re- gional Fire Authority chief. Friese is also one of two female fire- fghters in a class of 34 students at the state academy. "When I got here, all the guys kind of looked at me sideways," Friese said. "It was like, 'Oh, there's a woman. Is she going to be all girly?'" Friese, 29, is from Lebam, a town in southeast Washing- ton made up of about 160 people. In her mid-20s, Friese became a cer- tified wild land fire- fighter and spent several summers fighting wild fires across the state. Two Friese years ago, she de- cided to volunteer at a fire station in Thurston County and begin working on structure fires. "The first couple calls I went out on, I knew this is what I wanted to do," Fri- ese said. Friese began training with the McLane Black Lake Fire Department in Olympia, and was hired as a resi- dent. Because the job was grant-based, it was uncertain and could run out of fundlu at any time. After Bakken met Friese, he knew North Mason had a place for her. The fire authority offered Friese a more stable, full-time job earlier this year, which she accepted shortly after the new year. Bakken said that because Friese is from a small town, she is used to work- ing in tight-knit communities. She majored in Spanish in college, so Friese has served as a translator on calls to Spanish-speaking households for the North Mason Regional Fire Au- thority. "She's been a great asset already," Bakken said. The fire authority regularly sends new recruits to a private fire-training academy in Washington to make sure they're ready to join the team. The fire authority used to send recruits to a training academy in Olympia, but stopped this year after a change in ownership at the academy. Instead, they turned to the state-run academy to train Friese. Friese is the first North Mason re- cruit to go through the Washington State Fire Training Academy in 25 years, Bakken said. Bakken describes the school, based in North Bend near Snoqualmie Pass, as a military boot camp for firefight- ers. Recruits go through rigorous Laura Friese, a firefighter for the NoAh Mason Regional Fire Authority, State Fire Training Academy last week in North Bend. unreels hoses Herald photos by Brianna Loper during a drill at the Washington "On.one of the evaluations, it said she stays late and works with people who are out of shape. She's not just doing her own thing. She's stepping up." Scott Cooper, North Mason Regional Fire Authority assistant chief physical training each day, coupled like it if your house was on fire and a with written and physical tests, group of firefighters showed up flip- classroom work and on-site train- ping through their books to figure out ing. The academy has training sites, what to do?" or "props," in the shape of a six-story Friese said the academy hasn't just burn tower, a warehouse, an aircraft, taught her about fighting fires; she also dumpsters, a helicopter and the mid- learned a lot about herself. ship section of a boat, which helps the "I feel like I've grown as a person recruits learn how to deal with fires since I've been here," she said. "Yes, in any situation. I've really honed my skills, but I've also There is also a hazardous material gained a lot more confidence in myself, prop, flammable liquids drill, and a which is a big thing." search and rescue maze. Friese said when the academy start- "It's great for the recruits to learn ed in April, she was wary of being one here, because they actually get real of the only women at the training. But experience," said Bob Miller, commis- instead of backing down, she stepped sioner for the North Mason Regional up to the challenge. Fire Authority. "They're not just learn- "I try to set standards for myself so ing out of a textbook. How would you that the guys have to work to keep up with me," she said. Assistant Chief Scott Cooper said the fire authority receives weekly prog- ress reports about Friese, and staff have been impressed with her progress. ,On one of the evaluations, it said she stays late and works with people who are out of shape," Cooper said. "She's not just doing her own thing. She's stepping up." Friese said one of the hardest parts for her is throwing ladders, which is pulling long, awkward ladders off the truck and running them to the site of the fire. "They're heavy, and I'm smaller, so I had to learn to do it differently," she said. "It may not be pretty, but I can get the job done." Her size does have some advantag- es; Friese said when there are 15 fire- fighters in a smoky building, practicing a drill, she's able to duck and maneu- ver around the bulkier firefighters with ease. "You know, once we put our masks on, I'm no different from everyone else," she said. "There are challenges every day, but I make sure I'm measur- ing up." & 10m, 2016 ; out Johns Prairie Rd • Shelton POWER Machinery Live m Consignment Farm Auction July 10m at 1:00 pm Admission: $4 Weekend Family Pass t,. Games • Food 26278 Vmm- Call us today for your free estimate! Ascend Roofing Has Moved To Serve You Better/ Conveniently located at 1800 Olympic Highway S. Suite 3 Shelton, WA 98584 U£ #AIBCBVlmCSgSItlM