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In 1697, Boston established America’s first-ever fire department with the first-ever fire engine, firehouse, and first-ever paid firefighters. The station was made up of 27 members, all men. 118 years later, a woman by the name of Molly Williams, who was a slave at the time, became a member of the Oceanus Engine Company #11 in New York City. She would become the first-ever female firefighter in America. In 2021, the U.S has roughly 6,200 female firefighters and only about 150 of them are fire chiefs of their departments. Another chief was added to the list recently, and she’s from right here in the Des Moines metro.   

Jennifer Porter grew up in Grand Junction, Iowa, a small town in Greene County just off Highway 30. If you ask her, she will say that her life has been a bit more untraditional than others. After graduating high school, Porter forwent college and moved to Texas to work on a horse ranch. After a couple of years in the Lone Star State, she moved back to Iowa to join the military where she gained her interest in the fire service while she was assigned to the 4224th hospital unit.   

“I was really just trying to find myself during that time. I kept asking myself ‘What is my next move?’ or ‘What do I want to do here?’ ” Porter said.    

After some deliberation, Porter decided to take part in an EMT program. One of the requirements for the program is to in ride along with the Des Moines Fire Department. It was during these moments that Porter discovered what she wanted to do for a career.    

“I just remember telling myself, ‘This is it. This is where I need to be. This feels like home in the back of an ambulance or in the fire station’,” Porter said.    

The move to a firefighter role didn’t come quickly for Porter. At the time of her EMT Program, she had a child and was also a supervisor at a large daycare in Des Moines. After a couple of years, she decided to get a part-time EMT job for a private ambulance company, which led her to go through paramedic school. The timing worked out well as the city of Norwalk had an opening for a full-time EMT/Firefighter position, and Porter jumped on the opportunity.    

“When I got on the Norwalk Department in 2008, it was still a combination department. We were only staffing during the day,” Porter said. “I was one of the first people to be hired here that didn’t live in Norwalk. The other three full-time staff at the time were volunteers who all worked Monday through Friday and left the weekends to volunteers.”  

After a while, Porter realized that if she wanted to continue in this line of work and keep growing at what she was doing: she needed to go back to school. If she aspired for a chief officer rank, a degree would be required. Porter went to Waldorf University online in 2019 to obtain her bachelor’s degree at the age of 43. Looking back, Porter can only laugh at the situation.   

“Let me tell you, it wasn’t [the] easiest thing. I have two children who are the ages of 22 and 19, and I remember that there were times I would be sitting at the kitchen counter, and I would be writing papers and my son’s friends were cheering me on to finish the work.”    

During this past summer, due to unforeseen circumstances, the fire chief position on the Norwalk Fire Department became vacant. Porter, being next in line, was offered the interim fire chief position until the city could find someone to take the position.    

“I felt that it was a natural fit because I was already doing a lot of the administrative tasks anyways,” Porter said. “I was also already next in line, so I just decided that it was right to take that position at that time.”   

When asked about being a female fire chief in a mostly male-dominated role, Porter put it into a leadership perspective.  

“I realize being a female fire chief is a big deal to the industry, but nothing has changed for us on the Norwalk Fire Department. I’ve always been an informal leader since I’ve been here a long time and I’ve been in a large administrative role prior to this. I’ve paid my dues, if you will.”    

People often ask Porter what it’s like to be a female chief for a mostly male staff.  

“First of all, when the guys asked me if I would apply for the position, I told them I wouldn’t apply without their support,” Porter said. “That would be a struggle for me if they didn’t want me as their chief. I already had their support, and I don’t think any of us even considered what was going to come out of this from me being a female until the press release came out.”    

Porter said she believes that society, in general, is starting to lift gender boundaries when it comes to jobs, and fire chiefs are just a small piece of that larger movement.    

Jerry Holt is the fire chief for the Urbandale Fire Department and has been for the last 23 years. When asked what it meant to add another female fire chief to the metro, he gave great insight.   

“It is a big deal because there are not that many women in chief positions–locally or nationwide. I think it’s great. A person’s gender plays no factor in the ability to be successful in the fire service,” Holt said. “There are many examples of men not being successful in that role and I think it shows the progressiveness of the metro area to not only have women in that role but to welcome her with open arms.”   

Holt also believes that the U.S. will start to see an influx in female fire chiefs as the years go on, and that Porter is just the start of an ever-growing upward trend.    

In November, Porter was officially named the fire chief of the Norwalk Fire Department. The hiring process for the Fire Chief position was competitive and came down to four candidates.  It consisted of a written response to supplemental questions and then a day of interviews between four panels. Despite being the interim chief, Porter still had to earn the position.    

“I was sitting in my driveway one night after the announcement was made and my neighbor came home, and she said that her daughter’s friend came up to her and said ‘Hey we have a girl who is a fire chief! Isn’t that so cool?’”   

It was in that moment that Porter realized the impact she would be making.   

“It was just really cool. I didn’t expect to have an impact on a 2nd grader, and she was looking to me in this position and thought that was empowering,” Porter said. “I didn’t expect that type of feedback, but I appreciate it and it does encourage me to be more of an advocate role model for girls that are interesting in male-dominated industries across the board, not just in the fire service.”   

Porter was officially inducted into the fire chief position on November 22nd at the Norwalk Fire Station, where she will continue to lead men and women into burning buildings while others are running out. It’s these actions that will lead and continue to build the Norwalk Fire Department and other metro departments for years to come.