Katie Gordon, the first female municipal firefighter in Prince George history, comes from a family of fire suppression professionals.
Her grandfather, Walter Black, served 30 years with the Kamloops Fire Department, and her father, Kevin Woodhouse, retired this year after a three-decade career with Prince George Fire Rescue.
So it was only natural that Gordon continued the family tradition.
An admitted adrenaline junkie, she has made a career out of first responder work.
Gordon began as an animal control officer and cruelty investigator for the BC SPCA, then joined the RCMP’s Indigenous policing program. She also served five years as a corrections officer at the adult and youth jails in Prince George, and worked as a bylaw officer in Ontario.
She is also a sessional instructor in medical and fire safety at the Justice Institute of BC. Her broad work background, combined with her physical fitness as a rugby player and coach, made her a strong candidate when PGFR hired her in 2015.
On Thursday, July 17, the Yellowhead Rotary Club presented Gordon with the Paul Harris Fellow Award at its weekly luncheon at the Coast Inn of the North. The honour recognized her efforts to make the community a better place.
Gordon spearheaded Adventures for First Responders, a career-day program for School District 57 students in Grades 10 to 12. The event simulates what it's like to work as a firefighter, paramedic or police officer.
On May 3 at the John McInnis Centre, PGFR joined forces with the RCMP, BC Emergency Health Services and SD 57 to give students hands-on experience — from aiming a high-pressure fire hose to controlling severe bleeding and handcuffing a suspect.
The program is an offshoot of the Yellowhead Rotary’s Adventures With Healthcare, which once paired high school students with health-care workers for job-shadowing opportunities. Gordon participated in that program before it ended in 2019. That’s where she met Yellowhead Rotary member Ron Davis, who helped her launch the first responder version and secured club support.
“You have people who maybe might not know what they want to be when they grow up, and first responders seems to be a great gateway,” said Gordon.
“BCEHS is doing a ton of recruitment right now. The RCMP is trying to bolster their numbers as well. So being able to capture that audience in Grade 12 means they can consider those career paths.”
Thirty students took part in the inaugural event, and Gordon expects even more will apply for the next session, set for Oct. 18.
“I was really lucky — when we formed the committee, I got to pull in my friends, and all of them are very passionate about their careers,” said Gordon. “They love their jobs as paramedics, and those are the people you want engaging with youth.”
Gordon sits on the board of Fire Service Women of BC and is involved with Camp Ignite, a program launched in 2011 to introduce girls to firefighting. Several alumnae have since joined the profession. Taught exclusively by women, Camp Ignite has expanded from Vancouver to Vancouver Island and the Kootenays.
Gordon said she hopes to establish a similar camp in Prince George, with participation from the RCMP and BCEHS.
In recent years, the Prince George Fire Rescue service has hired three additional female firefighters, including a former tank operator with the Canadian Armed Forces. The department’s chief of communications and deputy chief of dispatch are also women.
“We still only make up about four per cent of the working population,” said Gordon. “But it’s really cool to see the Salmon Valley Volunteer Fire Department is 90 per cent women. I think you have to see it to be it, and before, that representation was lacking. Programs like Camp Ignite have opened that door — showing them they can do this.”
Gordon received her emergency medical responder (EMR) certification in 2004 and has taught the Justice Institute course since 2017.
In 2006, Prince George became the first city in BC where all municipal firefighters were trained to the EMR level or higher. That milestone was the result of then–fire chief John Lane’s push to improve medical training.
“Prince George was absolutely groundbreaking — having all their firefighters become paramedic-licensed in 2006. We were the first in the province to do that,” said Gordon. “Now we’re seeing other departments start to take that on. There’s just such a demand.”
The city has added a firefighter training facility to its strategic plan. Gordon hopes that, if built, it will provide even more opportunities for students to explore careers in emergency services.
