Chief Tiffany Green

Blazing a Trail: Chief Tiffany Green's Journey in the Fire Service

In this episode of 'Blazing Trails and Breaking Norms' presented by the African American Firefighter Museum, host Karen Slider interviews Tiffany Green, the first black woman to lead the Prince George's County Fire Department.(https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/fire-emergency-medical-services)Chief Green shares her journey, challenges, and successes as a female firefighter and leader. She discusses her early career, experiences with pregnancy on the job, volunteerism, and the importance of recruiting women in the fire service. Gain valuable insights into her leadership and dedication to the profession.

00:00 Welcome to Blazing Trails and Breaking Norms
00:27 Introducing Chief Tiffany Green
01:27 Chief Green's Personal Journey
02:08 Challenges and Support as a Female Firefighter
05:53 Volunteering and Career Transition
11:04 Recruitment and Representation
11:53 Facing Challenges as a Fire Chief
14:47 Reflections and Closing Thoughts

Creators & Guests

Host

Karen Slider

Karen Slider, retired firefighter/paramedic host- was the 2nd Black Female firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Guest

Chief Tiffany Green

Fire Chief for Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department

Producer

D'Lisa Dvies

D'Lisa Davies retired Captain was the first black female firefighter with Los Angeles Fire Department

Producer

Michael Slider

Designer

Sydney Breakfield

What is "Blazing Trails and Breaking Norms: African American Women's Legacy in the Fire Service.?

Tune in to our podcast, where African-American women firefighters/paramedics share their own words, recounting their awe-inspiring journey, challenges, and impact on the fire service. Through their firsthand accounts, you'll gain a deeper appreciation for their resilience, uncover the layers of history they've shaped, and recognize their transformative role in this vital profession."

[00:00:00] Karen: to the podcast, Blazing Trails and Breaking Norms, proudly presented by the African American Firefighter Museum, located at 1401 Central Avenue in the vibrant city of Los Angeles. I'm your host, Karen Slider, and we're excited to share this podcast with you. Today. We have the privilege of interviewing Tiffany Green, the fire chief of the Prince George's County Fire Department in Maryland.

[00:00:36] She is the first black woman to lead the department. We look forward to hearing her insights on managing the fire department and exploring the significance of the fire service as a respected profession.

[00:00:53] Hello, everyone. Welcome to the African American Firefighters Museum Podcast, [00:01:00] Blazing Trails and Breaking Norms. Today we have the privilege and the honor to introduce you to Chief Green. Her first name is Tiffany. Tiffany Green is the Fire Chief of Prince George County. She's the Chief of Fire and EMS. Tiffany, are you there?

[00:01:22] Chief Green: Yes, I am. How are you guys doing?

[00:01:24] Karen: We're doing great. We're so excited to hear about your journey. Can you give us a little background about yourself?

[00:01:31] Chief Green: Absolutely. So I'll be as brief as I can. I'm sure you guys can find everything online. But again, my name is Tiffany green. I'm from Prince George's County, Maryland. I am the 13 fire chief of one of the largest combination departments in the world. I've been serving in this role a little over four years with about 27, 28 years of experience in the fire service coming into Prince George's County fire department in March of 1999.

[00:01:53] I am a wife and a mother. I have a 24 year old. Old daughter and two grandsons Cairo [00:02:00] and Cree one and two respectively in their ball of fun. So that's just a little bit about me, and I'm sure you guys will learn a little bit more during the recording.

[00:02:08] Karen: Okay. Did you have any kids when

[00:02:10] Chief Green: No, when I got hired to the department, I did not. My daughter, again, is 24 years old.

[00:02:14] Karen: Okay, so when you came on, was it hard for were pregnant to, get time off or ~get or~ how did that work for you? Cause it was kind of difficult for us. We were like of the first women to get pregnant

[00:02:24] Chief Green: So for me I wasn't one of the first but the challenges for me as it relates to my pregnancy is I pregnant when I was in a probationary status in the department, meaning I was assigned to a station, but I was in my rookie book as we would call it. And the challenges there in that scenario was just in me not wanting to come out of the field too soon because of the pressures of finishing the rookie book and getting all those things done.

[00:02:48] So I didn't have a lot of mentors to say take your time off, come out of the field, take the maternity leave, those type of things. You'll have enough opportunity to get what you need on the back end once [00:03:00] you have, had your child and come back to work. Those things didn't exist there.

[00:03:03] Those bridges were not there for us back then. So I stayed out in the field for almost six or seven months into my pregnancy, a long time. And that's not something I would advocate for anyone to do. For me it worked out, but I wouldn't say it was the easiest thing or necessarily the right thing if I could choose to do it differently now knowing what I know.

[00:03:23] But I did that and my crew supported me in those efforts. The only other challenges I did incur of course was being on shift work. That's always challenging. And finding support systems to take care of a child and to fulfill those maternal things as mothers we want to do and finding that balance.

[00:03:39] At some point in my career when my daughter was about one or two, I was in a paramedic class, which is a two year program pretty difficult. And I remember struggling to just make sure I had childcare and those things necessary to get to class in the evenings and make sure that I met the job requirements there.

[00:03:56] There wasn't a lot of balance that existed at the time in our [00:04:00] department for our female firefighters. So those are just some of my experiences there.

[00:04:03] Karen: You answered a lot of questions that, that I have outlined just with your opening what was like for you to become a woman and become pregnant on the job? We had, support systems that were outside of the department. We wouldn't have been allowed to work. As soon as they found out we were pregnant, we were sent to light duty. There were no light duty positions for you. So you had a crew that backed you up.

[00:04:29] Can you tell me how they did

[00:04:30] Chief Green: Yes so let me clarify, there were light duty positions available. I just didn't take them. So we had a policy and procedure for pregnant women in the department to be able to go on light duty. I felt the pressure of staying in my station because I wanted to finish my book in a timely manner. And that was the culture at the time in the fire service.

[00:04:48] So there were positions, we just, some of us just didn't take them because we felt like leaving the station too soon would put us further behind in getting through our rookie books as our conditional offers of [00:05:00] employment. The crew that I had in place they supported me making sure that if we ran our fire suppression calls, that I was not in an environment that would be conduce and conducive to carrying a baby.

[00:05:11] They made sure that I was properly hydrated and that wasn't lifting heavy things. Like they just really supported me on that end as it got, as I started to show and it started to have challenges. There were also days it swaps for me when I felt sick and ill and they just really picked up the the load there.

[00:05:25] So I really appreciate that crew at the time and their willingness to work with me. But hindsight being what it is, I would encourage all females to take the positions that are afforded to you on light duty to ensure the health and welfare of yourself and the baby.

[00:05:41] Karen: Wow. That's wonderful. I'm glad you had them and I'm glad they supported you and it didn't, delay you in any way from becoming the chief that you are.

[00:05:50] Chief Green: Thank you

[00:05:53] Karen: Did you always want to be a firefighter?

[00:05:56] Chief Green: No, actually not at all. I grew up right around the [00:06:00] corner from the fire station and never went. Didn't know anyone in the fire service at all. Graduated high school, went to college, went to George Washington University. And part of my electives there, I took an EMT course as part of my biology major.

[00:06:13] And the EMT course required you to do a ride along at one of the local fire stations. And I did that ride along and that's where I was introduced to the fire service and EMS and volunteering. As a result of that ride along, I finished that ride along, and then I decided I liked it enough that I decided that I would volunteer in that particular fire department.

[00:06:32] And I did, and so I volunteered for a few years while I finished my degree. Finished my college degree, went on to work in the federal government and then at some point I just decided that I enjoyed what I was doing more on the volunteer side than I did my good government job. I changed careers, and I entered the fire service in March of 1999.

[00:06:51] Karen: Wow. You know what they say. If you love what you do, it's not work. And it sounds like you love it.

[00:06:57] Chief Green: Absolutely.

[00:06:59] Karen: [00:07:00] What kind of what's involved with volunteers? Do they get any kind of compensation, uniform allowance, anything like that?

[00:07:06] Chief Green: Yes, so in Prince George's County we have a pretty large volunteer contingency here. We're one of the largest volunteer combination departments in the world. We have over 2, 000 volunteers here in our department and we have 45 stations that are mixed. Career andvolunteers. So the state of Maryland does a really good job of supporting our volunteers.

[00:07:24] Not only are there tax stipends things that they can use on that end, there are tuition reimbursements, of course, free uniform and training that comes with that, as well as other various incentives that we offer. Our LOSAT program, which is length of service award program, which is almost like a retirement.

[00:07:38] After you served so many years as a volunteer, you get a monthly stipend. Up to 1500 a month. Like we really do a lot to try to support our longstanding volunteers here in our community in Prince George's County. So those are just some of the things that we offer here.

[00:07:53] Karen: Man, makes me want to volunteer. Okay. What did it mean to you when you [00:08:00] became a paid firefighter?

[00:08:04] Chief Green: So again, I was introduced to the fire service on the volunteer side. So I was well oriented to Prince George's County. And our system becoming a paid firefighter again, it's just I wanted to fulfill this as a lifelong career. So it was important to me again to get hired and get through the hiring process like everyone else, but also to start my career kind of fresh.

[00:08:22] Even though I had a volunteer experience, I took all the training all over again with the exception of EMT, of course and learning the, I wouldn't say the career way, but just the way that they do business on the career side, which is a little different from the volunteer side. And making sure that I looked at it as a career and the professional aspect of it.

[00:08:40] It wasn't something that I can show up when I wanted to and pick and choose. This was now, I was now saying this was a part of my fabric and being, this is who I was. I was now going into this as a profession. So it meant a lot to be able to do that.

[00:08:52] Karen: Do you think there were any hindrances to you becoming a firefighter because you're a

[00:08:57] black woman?

[00:08:59] Chief Green: I don't say there were any [00:09:00] hindrances. I didn't have any problems through the application process. It was relatively easy to get through that. They were looking for women at the time. They were actually recruiting women, not necessarily black women, but they were recruiting women in itself.

[00:09:12] We have since changed that. changed our model a little bit where we do selective recruiting for different groups. But back in 1999, they were just recruiting women and they didn't have a plan to do it. They were just, advertising as best that they could. So I don't think there was any hindrance to me getting hired other than the fact that I knew nothing about it.

[00:09:31] So this wasn't something that was advertised or African Americans in this particular community, we weren't sought out. So it wasn't something that growing up I would have seen. So therefore I think that's the only hindrances. If I had known about this sooner than I may have considered that before I had gone on up, done enough.

[00:09:53] Karen: Yeah, the same for me. As a youth, there were no Blacks on the fire department and they definitely were no women on the fire [00:10:00] department. That wasn't one of my goals either. I just happened to fall into it and I heard it on the radio. I'm glad that you volunteered because you had a rapport with the fire department even before you joined.

[00:10:11] Do you suggest that most people volunteer before they

[00:10:14] become firefighters?

[00:10:16] Chief Green: I don't, what I tell them is you can join our department either way you can do with no experience at all. We'll train you and we welcome that. But I also encourage our volunteers that really love this to do it. on a different level, on the professional level. So I see both ways. Having come through the system as a volunteer, I think that it did give me a sense of orientation to the fire service.

[00:10:36] Like I understood it. I had already been running calls. I was EMT certified. So I had some of those things that helped me. But when I got to the academy, they treated us all the same and we all were just boots on the ground and recruits and learning it from

[00:10:49] and to, to coming to our academy, wanting to learn from start. And then using your experience of being in our department. to help others and give them a kind of [00:11:00] a better sense of belonging because they've already been a part of the organization.

[00:11:04] Karen: Do you actively recruit women now?

[00:11:06] Chief Green: We do. That's we do some targeted recruitment. And again, I think we are the biggest component for ourselves. We support women in all aspects of public safety. But I specifically, of course, seek out women in the fire service and trying to encourage them to do this. And I think the biggest recruitment effort that we have is that we're being seen.

[00:11:24] We're visible. We're out there. My current recruiter is a female. I make sure that when we go to recruitment events, when we go to high schools, when we go to elementary schools, that there are women of color that they can see and that we are visibly showing them that it can be done. And when we look at our numbers, I think that's reflective of that.

[00:11:43] We do a good job of that and we really seek out opportunities to be better in that aspect.

[00:11:50] Karen: Could you tell me just a couple more questions. One, what is the most challenging thing you had to face as a firefighter? Or becoming who [00:12:00] you are as a chief?

[00:12:01] Chief Green: That's that's a

[00:12:02] two pronged question. Becoming a chief and a firefighter are two different things for me. I would say as a firefighter, the biggest challenge would be the physical challenge. As a woman on the smaller side, I'm 5'2 5'3 when I want to be. That is that's always going to be the out front first challenge being a female in the fire service.

[00:12:19] We absolutely can do the job, but have to learn to do it a little differently. And I think that's something that has to be taught. It has to be encouraged. It's not something that's going to come naturally. So for me, the challenge was figuring out how to do the job and be as good but just do it differently and using the things that are assets to me.

[00:12:37] And that was something I learned in the training Academy because there was a female assigned to the training Academy at that time. My hardest challenge as a female fire chief again, is the fact that again, I'm still the minority. I am often the only one in the room. In the fire service industry as well as in the public safety industry.

[00:12:55] So being visible and being present everywhere is a challenge because they need my voice on [00:13:00] all the platforms But I can't be everywhere and we really struggle to try to be So that things are simple things simple concepts like properly fitting gear for women and those type of things are being heard and talked about so those are some of the challenges

[00:13:14] Karen: Okay, if you had to change anything right now, if you could change one thing in your department,

[00:13:20] what would it be

[00:13:20] Chief Green: staffing. That's our biggest challenge again, and this is something that every fire department is struggling with We saw during COVID where we saw a mass exodus of firefighters and paramedics just no longer wanting to do this job. I think some of it is just the impact of the COVID pandemic and being on the front lines the entire time.

[00:13:37] What I tell people all the time is what I experienced as a chief and I became the chief right as COVID hit within 30 days I was dealing with it. What I experienced in my exit interviews and talking to my firefighters and paramedics is that they signed up, to go and burn a building and to risk their lives.

[00:13:52] What they didn't sign up for is to take, potentially take those elements back to their family. And that's what we saw with COVID. It was an unknown [00:14:00] enemy. We didn't know how we were spreading it. Wasn't, we weren't sure we were bringing it back home to our families. And I think that emotional toll just really wore us out as an industry.

[00:14:09] And we saw a lot of people choosing different careers. So keeping up with that has been a challenge and every firefighter, every fire chief I talked to. Their focus is really recruiting and retention and trying to build back up the fire service with staffing so that we're properly able to staff our apparatus and stations so that we can serve our community.

[00:14:28] I can't serve them without people. And although I'm one of the largest combinations departments and department in the world, volunteerism across the nation is no longer the same. Finding people who want to volunteer in their community in this capacity has changed and their motivation has changed, so being able to adapt to that is probably one of the biggest things.

[00:14:47] Karen: Would you do it all over again?

[00:14:49] Chief Green: Absolutely. I think this is one of the best careers in the world. I'll tell people all the time, I think you said it in the very beginning even for me as a fire chief serving our community, serving with the people that we're serving with in [00:15:00] the fire service, it's like none other. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

[00:15:03] I enjoy it. Even coming into the 20 something year of doing it. I still wake up every single day and enjoy going to work. And that's the model for what I want to embody in our department. I want people to want to be here and to enjoy it.

[00:15:17] Karen: I think anybody that sees this podcast and here's our, here's your voice and the inspiration that you are giving. I think there'll be more than happy to join. You need to be out there more. You need to be on television. You need to make your face seen because you are an inspiration and you will draw people in just with your voice.

[00:15:36] Chief Green: Thank you. Thank you.

[00:15:39] Karen: So in closing, is there anything

[00:15:40] you'd like to

[00:15:41] say?

[00:15:42] Chief Green: I think I think your podcast is going to pretty much sum it all up. But again, I think one of the things that I'm always asked is what I would say to any black woman or, a female, a young adult that's interested in this career. And I would tell them, one, I'm here. I am a living example that you [00:16:00] can do this.

[00:16:01] I think that's important for them to see that there are women that are doing it every single day. We need them and we want them in the fire service. So that's what I would share

[00:16:09] Karen: absolutely. If nothing else but for the human and the compassionate side. Because we bring something that men don't. And that's a calm as soon as we walk in the room.

[00:16:20] Chief Green: Absolutely.

[00:16:21] Karen: Thank you, Chief Green. I look forward to meeting you in person one day. And I hope you enjoy this podcast when it's all put

[00:16:31] together and finished. Thanks everyone.

[00:16:34] We hope you enjoy today's podcast featuring the inspiring chief Tiffany green and gain deeper insight and appreciation for her achievements as a black woman in leadership. When you're in Los Angeles, be sure to visit the African American [00:17:00] firefighter museum at 1401 central Avenue. Our hours are Sunday from 1 p. m. to 4 p. m. Reach out to us at area code 213 744 1730. And we hope to see you very soon.