CONTACT PAGE

NAME: Paula Plishka EMAIL: pplishka@hotmail.com OCCUPATION: I am a volunteer firefighter/first responder for a rural type fire department. I live in a village with a population of approximately 400 people. BIO: I have been a firefighter for 7 years, was an EMT-B for 4 years and have been a First Responder for 2 years. I am currently the EMS Director of our EMS section. There are currently 4 women firefighters on our department and 2 others who work strictly EMS, although they also are required to learn the basics of firefighting. When I first decided to become a firefighter, my husband had been one for almost 8 years. I was not working during the day at the time and there was a house fire in the village during the daytime hours. I went to watch and saw how the few people we had around during the daytime struggled to contain that fire. That is when I decided that is what I wanted to do. I come from a family of firefighters. My father was a firefighter for nearly 40 years and all three of my brothers were firefighters. I guess you could say "it's in my blood". I have been very fascinated with it since I joined and I have had the full support of my husband and the other members of the department. They are a great bunch of guys to work with. They do not discriminate...they are only there to help. I am glad I made the decision to go into the fire service and will never regret that decision. Our children are also proud of both of us being in the fire department and it has made them more safety conscious. I also do a Fire Prevention Program for the grade school during Fire Prevention Week each year. I give tours of the fire station and I am glad to be able to give my knowledge of fire service back to the community.