1st female assistant fire chief in West Sunbury
The West Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department has appointed its first female assistant chief.
When officers were recently chosen for 2022, Shyan Grossman, 22, was selected as assistant fire chief, marking a milestone for the department.
Grossman, who has been involved with the fire department for five years, previously ranked as first lieutenant.
“It’s an honor, especially being so young and being a female,” Grossman said.
She said Chief Reid Campbell appointed the assistant chief position in December.
Of the 15 active members in the department, Grossman said there are two other women who serve with her.
With this new role, Grossman said she will take on more responsibilities to oversee the department. She said she hopes to use her new role to foster more involvement for fire departments in the area.
“I would love for (departments) to have more involvement. It’s a dying breed, wanting to volunteer,” Grossman said. “Most have daylight-hour jobs. I would love to get more people involved in fire departments.”
Grossman said she’s been serving the community since high school, working as an ambulance EMT and driver. She attended Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School for protective services, and in the 2017-18 school year, she was named Firefighter of the Year.
Diane Thompson, Grossman’s grandmother, said the family is proud of her accomplishments.
“We’re just so proud of her,” Thompson said. “I was so excited. She’s 22. She’s been with them five years. She’s a busy person.”
The incoming president of the Butler County Fire Chiefs Association, Greg Haughey said he’s seen women ranking higher in fire departments in recent years.
Haughey highlighted the outgoing president of the fire chiefs association, Jenna Enscoe, and two current captains of Butler Township’s department, Jennifer LaDue and Paula Schmidt.
“Our outgoing president is female ... Girls are starting to move in and assume a lot of responsibility in departments,” Haughey said.
LaDue, current president and a captain of Butler Township Volunteer Fire District, said she’s pleased the county is seeing more female representation in local fire departments.
“It’s a male-dominated field,” LaDue said. “There’s a lot of (departments) out there who are progressing. We have six (female firefighters) now in the township.”
In 2005, LaDue said she was the first appointed assistant fire chief in Butler County. She served with the Greenwood Village Volunteer Fire Department before it merged with surrounding entities to become the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District.
LaDue said the best advice she could give to West Sunbury’s new assistant chief is to relax and use the knowledge of the job.
“Work with everyone the way you want to be worked with,” LaDue said. “Keep a cool head; use your knowledge. Don’t try to overpower, and don’t try to compete.”
