Priest-Brockway has had memorable year with Wooster Fire Dept.
Wooster Division of Fire Firefighter of the Year Kristen Priest-Brockway holds her award, flanked by Division of Fire Capt. Mike Maag.
Every year the Wooster City Fire Department chooses one of its own to be honored as the Firefighter of the Year. This year Lt. Kristen Priest-Brockway was awarded the recognition.
Priest-Brockway has wanted to be a firefighter for as long as she can remember.
“My dad Mike Priest was a Wooster firefighter,” she said. “He retired in 2018. I always wanted to be a firefighter just like him. I never really had a backup plan if being a firefighter didn’t work out.”
A volunteer with the New Pittsburg Fire Department since 2011, Priest-Brockway has been with the Wooster Fire Department since May 2014. A paramedic and Level II firefighter, her other certifications include fire and EMS instructor and basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, and pediatric advanced life support instructor.
She also is a member of the tri-county critical incident stress debriefing team. This team is dispatched to fire or EMS agencies for members who have experienced a stressful or tragic emergency call.
“We work with those members to cope and heal from those hard calls,” Priest-Brockway said.
The 2023 Firefighter of the Year, announced in June, came as a surprise to Priest-Brockway.
“I work with some amazing people at the City of Wooster — those who go above and beyond daily and would be very deserving,” she said. “I was nominated and received this award for my work, not only in the City of Wooster, but also with my position as the EMS coordinator for Wooster Community Hospital and as the EMS program director for the Wayne County Regional Training Facility. I was humbled to receive this award. Special thanks to the Wooster Exchange Club.”
In August an awards ceremony was held. Priest-Brockway received a plaque, and her name was placed on a master plaque in the lobby of the safety center.
The award is a long-standing tradition. Wooster City Assistant Chief Nathan Murphy said, “(Firefighter of the Year) has been selected every year for as long as I can remember. This is my 25th year with Wooster.”
Earlier in the year, Priest-Brockway was named as the 2022 Instructor of the Year at the Wayne County Regional Training Facility.
“As with the Firefighter of the Year award, I just want to say there are so many dedicated staff members at the training facility, and dedicated is an understatement,” she said. “I was humbled and honored to be that recipient.”
As an instructor, Priest-Brockway said she enjoys being a part of facilitating professional growth.
“It has been so neat seeing past students get hired by Wooster Fire Department and become co-workers,” she said. “Being able to be a part of their professional growth really puts a smile on my face. The whole goal is to develop students who will go on to surpass yourself.”
Most recently, Priest-Brockway was promoted to lieutenant at the Wooster Fire Department. She called this promotion one of the biggest accomplishments of her life. Priest-Brockway is the first female ranked officer in Wooster Fire Department history.
Murphy said the process for receiving the promotion is involved and difficult. It involves studying five different training and leadership texts, then taking a scored test on the material.
Next, the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association holds an assessment center where the applicants are grilled on their leadership skills. These can be anything from a role-playing scenario where they explain the proper strategy and tactics to managing emergency incidents and policy issues. After this second evaluation, the individual moves to cognitive evaluation to score the applicant’s ability to perform under stressful situations.
After successfully completing all these, there are interviews with the division’s chief officer staff. Applicants are then placed in order of their score and a selection is made.
The Wooster Division of Fire has 47 members working three shifts, with 14 members per shift. The balance of the staff is administrative with three chief officers, one deputy fire marshal and one civilian office coordinator. All members, minus the office coordinator, are dual certified as firefighters and EMS providers.
Along with handling calls, the department regularly takes fire-prevention programs into schools and businesses.
“Kristen has been a dedicated member of some of these programs,” Murphy said. “She has been spearheading Reading Under the Lights the last few years for the fire division.”
Additionally, she also writes grants to provide equipment to the county departments and training that may not be affordable as individual departments. This position also has an influence on the care that is provided to the county residents.
“She is extremely dedicated to the citizens of Wooster and Wayne County,” Murphy said. “She continues to push to improve the quality of care our citizens receive across our county and many of the adjoining counties.”
“I truly have the best job in the world,” Priest-Brockway said. “I work for a great city. I work with dedicated and compassionate co-workers and supervisors, and I am excited to see where the next 20 years takes me here at Wooster Fire Department.”