Navigating leadership in the fire service as a strong, resilient, compassionate and caring female leader.
If you would have asked me back in 2020 when I was promoted as my department’s first female Assistant Platoon Chief how things would work out my answer would have been very different then to now in 2026.
The fire service has many years of tradition and culture. It takes strength, courage and strong resilience to spend years in the service giving back.
There has always been an “earn your respect and prove you can do the job” within the fire service. And yes, women’s errors or mistakes are usually scrutinized heavily by their peers. However, the difference one can make is have good self awareness. I always lead by example and I own my mistakes.
If we can personally recognize our weaknesses, strengths and own our decisions… good and bad. This ownership and self awareness will earn you a lot of respect. We are all human. If we make excuses or lay blame for our actions our peers and leadership lose respect very rapidly.
We are continuously trying to retrain our minds of the double standards that can take place. Women in leadership roles can be labelled as too emotional or too aggressive. One thing we forget to acknowledge is change is hard. The fire service is slowly evolving but we must take into consideration there are years of traditions and culture when women weren’t in leadership roles.
Major changes like these take time to implement and become successful. I truly believe my success as a woman in a leadership role within the fire service depended on how I approached my role.
I have been in the fire service for 26 years, promoted as my department’s first female officer in 2009, and then the first female within our department to Assistant Platoon Chief in 2020.
The number one thing I feel has made me successful in the fire service as a leader is this; I have stayed true to my personal leadership style. I have never been pressured by anyone to do what others are doing. I am forever grateful I never fell into Imposter Syndrome.
Men and women think very differently.
We can accomplish the same goals but we need to change how we do things in order to keep sustainable leadership successful.
Our perception is our reality. Some women have experienced a feeling of being left out of group activities. At times yes some crews absolutely will feel more comfortable with the guys doing off duty activities. This can make the female firefighters feel left out.
A lot of time the men I work with don’t even realize the females feel excluded or left out. Sometimes it’s a lack of communication or a misunderstanding. Men and women think differently.
I have worked with some incredible strong masculine men. I have also worked with amazing strong resilient women. And I have also worked with some terrible individuals along my career. This isn’t isolated to the fire service. I would bet every woman reading this article can honestly say somewhere along their career they have worked with amazing people and some terrible individuals.
That is the world we live in. Human nature within a competitive workforce regardless of your industry can create jealousy, competition and personality clashes. One of the biggest barriers in leadership especially in the fire service is recognizing men and women think and lead differently. And this is more than OK. It makes for an amazing dynamic if we honor and respect those leadership differences and qualities we each bring to the table.
The balance and collaboration between men and women in leadership roles within the fire service can be so incredibly powerful, successful and sustainable. As women we can lead in powerful situations using both masculine and feminine qualities. For me a great example would be a large structure fire. When I am an incident commander on scene of a fire I am operating out of my strong masculine. The power lies within knowing when to use each within your leadership role.
It wasn’t until I was injured from firefighting that I truly saw the impact of how learning and utilizing various leadership styles works if used effectively. In the fire service we have a saying that you are only as strong as your weakest firefighter. So we build our teams through resilience, training and strong leadership.
Success in the fire service in a leadership role as a female requires:
1. Competence on the fire ground
2. Strong mentorship
3. Strong communication/transparency
4. Lead by example
As female leaders we can be our own worst critics, overthink and self sabotage. Just because I see things in a situation one way, may not be how my male colleagues see it. This is why communication is so important within any leadership role not just the fire service.
Action Step: Lead by example, stay knowledgeable, continuously learn and we will evolve in the fire service. Change takes time and patience. We can work together to make a positive impact for future female leaders working up through the ranks. No one ever said leadership would be easy, but neither is walking into a burning building with 80-100lbs of gear to make a rescue/fight a fire when you can’t see your hand in front of your face.
Name: Stacey Hemstock
Professional Title: Assistant Platoon Chief In The Fire Service
Bio 50 words max: 26 years in the fire service, I was promoted to Assistant Platoon Chief in 2020 being the first female in my department in that leadership role. Shattering a glass ceiling, empowering, educating and encouraging along the way. Always learning as I move on my journey.
