At age seven, Amanda Zehring’s dream was to become a firefighter.
Her dream came true 14-years-later when her dad, Gary Zehring, safety officer and captain of Spring Valley Township Fire Department got the opportunity to present to his daughter her Fire Science certificate at Sinclair Community College.
“I’ve always known that this is what I wanted to do, just to follow in my dad’s footsteps. Since I am the second generation, I kind of had to keep it going, but Fire Science is what I was born to do. You can just say it runs in my blood,” Zehring said. “And when my dad presented me with the award, I got very emotional, and my eyes filled with tears, it just hit me all at once.”
Growing up, Zehring spent most of her days in several firehouses; she said that she was “practically raised in a firehouse.” These firehouses and the experience she would gain put her on the fast track to declaring Fire Science as a major at Sinclair.
But she said she knew she had to work hard.
“Fire Science isn’t for everyone. It’s hard, but you’re going to get that because it’s not an easy job. It was a lot of learning, but Sinclair was probably the best program,” she said.
During the training, Zehring said she had to wake up at all hours of the night, and when she heard the sirens her body automatically knew to get up. Sometimes she would wake up at two and three in the morning to respond to an emergency, but her body running on adrenaline kept her alert.
“When you’re there [at a fire] you have to like gather your thoughts, just breathe and then begin,” Zehring said.
Though the 20-year-old plans to take more Fire Science classes at Sinclair to improve her rank, she contributes her success to her dad.
“My dad is really like my inspiration, he is kind of like my hero. Overall, he has been there for me, throughout it all, motivating, teaching me perseverance and giving me support,” she said.
While Zehring has started the second generation of a family that has devoted their lives to fire science and fire service, she said her passion is to one day be a radiologist, but for now she said volunteering for the fire department is a rewarding way to give back to the community she lives in.
“I am very proud of Amanda because she has put a lot of effort into her Level 1 Firefighting. The future of fire service depends on the use of developmental skills, and I think Amanda is a prime example of this,” Mr. Zehring said.