By Sheila Harvey, SJI Fire & Rescue public information officer

Michelle Stringer, FF1, is one of our newest firefighters.

The first thing she did in her training was learn to be a wildlands firefighter. Hence, her acquaintance with Smokey the Bear.

She grew up a “Navy brat” and has lived all over the country, spending much of that time in Philadelphia, where she earned her under-graduate and graduate degrees in physical therapy from The University of the Sciences.

After graduation, Michelle lived in Seattle, where she worked at Harborview Medical Center three days a week and at Providence Hospital, in Everett, two days a week. She and her partner, Katie, who has since become a member of our logistics team, traveled to San Juan Island looking for wedding venues and saw a house that they loved and from there, they say, the rest is history.

Michelle interviewed and obtained a position with Joyce Thomson at Islanders Physical Therapy and moved here soon after. While with a patient one day, the patient suggested she sign up for the wildlands training class that was starting soon. So she did, and quite liked it, so she went on to become a structural firefighter as well.

She has enjoyed learning a whole new skill set in becoming a firefighter. “It’s exhilarating,” she says.

Michelle is also learning things about herself and that she can do a lot of things she never thought of doing. Fire fighting is helping Michelle to become assimilated into our community and not to be just an anonymous face among the people living on our island. She wants to be a truly contributing member of this community.

After a recent drill in which the fire department was given a small building to burn for practice, Michelle went right up to the owner and thanked him for, “letting us burn his building down.” She is a born diplomat.

After Michelle gets some time as a firefighter under her helmet, she would very much like to further her experience by becoming an officer.

“If you have any hint of desire to become a volunteer firefighter come and try it out,” she said. “If you decide you don’t like it you can leave, nobody is going to make you stay. But chances are you are going to fall in love with it.”

San Juan Island Fire & Rescue welcomes all interested men and women, ages 16 years of age and over to drop by the Mullis Street station and make an appointment to see what we are all about.

Or, look online at www.sjif.org for lots of good information. Our phone number is 360-378-5334. We would be happy to talk with you.