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NAME: Revelle M. Howard EMAIL: revelle@kih.net OCCUPATION: Vol. Firefighter/EMT BIO: I am a 26 year old firefighter/EMT. I joined the fire service on October 20, 1988 with the Pond Creek Vol. Fire Dept. (the first department in Southeastern KY to have women firefighters). I became an EMT in April 1989. I received Rookie of the Year award and Most Training Hours my first year on the dept. I was honored by Mr. Joe Tyson in 1991 by receiving The Certificate of Merit, the highest award from the American Red Cross, for saving his life. He had suffered a massive heart attack while driving home and his car had came to rest behind mine at a red light while I was on my way to a doctors appointment. By performing CPR, I had saved his life. I was also commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel and had an article about this featured in Firefighter News (Oct/Nov 1991) and many local papers. I am now the training officer at Red Bird Vol. Fire & Rescue in Southeastern KY. If it had not been for the excellent training I had received when I first joined the fire service, I would have never been able to last all these years. I am very proud of all the women in the fire service! A women's place is in the house -- the Firehouse!

NAME: Barbara Howard EMAIL: Tabby918@hotmail.com OCCUPATION: Emergency Medical Technician, Volunteer Firefighter BIO: I began this career by joining our Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, raising money for our firefighters....Their training was from Ky Tech and they required a minimum of 10 people present at a class or they could not conduct the necessary fire training, and our department at times could not get 10 people there so I joined as a firefighter in 1982, to be an extra person in case they ran short on training nights. I became very interested in the training classes and soon started running fire calls. I took every training class available including a first aid course. I saved the life of a baby with rescue breathing skills I learned in that class but it did not teach me CPR. So, I tried to get a CPR class. The problem was there were no CPR Instructors in the area to offer it. I contacted everyone I could think of to get a CPR class and I located a Lady in Ashland, Ky at Ky Tech. She again told me she had no CPR classes on her schedule, but did have an EMT class comming to my area soon. I had no idea what an EMT was, my question to her was "will I learn CPR?" She said yes, so a friend and I applied for the class. We completed that class in 1989. I began to run with our ambulance service and loved the work very much. My friend & I went to every class available to us in Eastern Ky. After years of training we decided to go into teaching. We both became Fire service Instructors and First Aid & CPR instructors....Now the classes Were available to everyone who wanted them! I went into Public Safety and my friend went into Mine Safety. I decided to go for EMT Instructor. I owe that accomplishment to this friend as she was my greatest supporter. I became an EMT Instructor in June 1995 and my friend died of a heart attack in September 1995. I have battled many obstacles over the years in this "man's field" My greatest supporters were not my husband or my family, they were other women. If I can be of help or support to any other women in Kentucky in the fire or EMS service. I will gladly help them, way I was helped. I must say, Thank you Vertrice Ratliff and Cheryl Preston. I owe it all to you ladies. And Cheryl, I miss you very much :(