Listen in or view the ZOOM for guest host Alenka Vrecek’s Women’s Eye Podcast with Clare Frank, a trailblazer who found her life’s calling to be a firefighter at an early age and became California’s first female Chief of Fire Protection.
Available also on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube
This pioneering woman and author of the new memoir Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire worked her way up to the highest ranks from age 17, handling fire, rescue emergencies and major disasters in urban and rural settings.
Fellow adventure seeker and former TWE guest Alenka Vrecek, author of She Rides, Chasing Dreams Across California and Mexico, finds much in common with Clare during their chat. They both grew up with unconventional childhoods, great aspirations and the desire to be independent. Clare talks about the tremendous affect her brother Mark had on her. He knew he was going to be a firefighter at two years old.
“I was his tag along sister. I wasn’t fully aware that women could be firefighters because even today, we still have this word called fireman. So I didn’t think I could be a firefighter. He said you would love it, and it would love you. You should try it”
So she tried it for a summer and knew it would be her future profession. Along her way up the ladder, she earned a spot on an elite state command team and a bachelor’s degree in fire command.
Always a fan of new challenges, she received a law degree when she found herself sidelined from an injury, a master’s in creative writing and several leadership awards. In spite of all her achievements, she still wasn’t aware that she was cutting a path for others.
“I didn’t view myself as a trailblazer. I wanted to be a really good firefighter. I was in some cases in survival mode because people didn’t think that was possible for me. So I had to just go for it.”
Clare Frank shares highlights of her life “in a man’s world” as she says, including:
- Worst moments and the most rewarding ones as a firefighter
- How much more there is to being a firefighter than fighting fires
- Why she left law and returned to firefighting
- Her idea about how to rebuild homes after devastating urban fires like the recent ones in the Los Angeles area
- How it’s possible to go against the grain and fight the stigma of what women cannot do
Leaving the firefighting world behind now, Clare is on the faculty for UNR-at-Tahoe’s masters’ program for creative writing.
Burnt is her acclaimed non-fiction debut and has been featured in many newspapers across the country. She is already working on her second book. We look forward to that book which she revealed to Alenka will be about pickleball!!! Wishing you great success with that, Clare!
Photos Courtesy Clare Frank
For more info on Clare Frank:
Website: firefighter1.com
Instagram: firewriter1
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