Lindsay Judah | Clermont, FL
Capt. Lindsay Judah and her pup, Porter.
Why did you become a firefighter?
Training Captain Lindsay Judah is a first generation firefighter. Her mother retired from the U.S. Navy and brought her family back to her hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida when Lindsay was 13. Lindsay’s mother told her she needed a hobby to devote her energy and passion towards. Shortly thereafter, her mom found a flyer for the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Explorer Post #952 at the local library. She brought the info home and drove Lindsay to the next meeting. The rest is history.
In her search for a hobby, Captain Judah found a purpose, a career, and a lifelong passion.
During high school, Judah completed her hours for the Florida Bright Futures scholarship by doing ride-time on SPFR Rescue 5 based out of downtown St. Petersburg. Spending time with the crew members, learning about the fire service and responding to incidents continually solidified her decision to pursue a career in public safety.
What is your favorite part about being a firefighter?
Lindsay Judah as a Fire Explorer on the left, and as a recently-hired Firefighter/EMT on right.
“Working on the frontlines on-shift, my favorite part was making a small difference in someone’s day.”
Captain Judah recalls incidents when time slowed down and critical decisions needed to be made to care for people in the community. She found working synergistically with the fire and EMS crews to be very rewarding. Whether it be an EMS call at someone’s home, an extrication on the side of the interstate, a multi-residential apartment fire, Captain Judah always enjoys the teamwork it takes to get the job done.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
In her current role as a Training Captain, her favorite part is serving her personnel. It is very gratifying for Captain Judah to develop programs, implement training initiatives and ensure personnel are supported to carry out the mission then return home safely after shift.
Fire FTOs and Capt. Judah.
Is there anything about the fire service that is different from your expectations before beginning your career?
Captain Judah recalls drawing diagrams of ladders as a young fire explorer to learn the different parts: beam, dogs, fly, halyard, and rungs. When she attended St. Petersburg College Fire Academy she thought learning the physical components would be the most challenging part of training. This, she learned, was just the beginning…
“Early in my career, I was amazed by how much there was to learn about being an entry-level firefighter/EMT.”
Much like the quintessential iceberg analogy, few aspects of firefighting are readily visible at first glance.
“Much of the learning required to be a good firefighter resides under the surface and requires effort to discover, learn and effectively perform,” Captain Judah pointed out. “It’s not as much brute strength, as it is continuous dedication and focus to comprehend, read, and train.”
Credit: Paul Combs
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What advice do you have for other firefighters?
1. Care for yourself
Scene safety is paramount. This is preached from day one in First Responder/EMT/Paramedic training. A firefighter cannot effectively provide oxygen to someone else if he/she doesn’t first put their own oxygen mask on.
Judah, second from the left, with all-female crew on Engine 1.
“Be intentional, find healthy hobbies and create constructive habits such as an exercise and stretching routine,” Captain Judah encourages firefighters.
2. Care for others
“We are all human first and first responders second,” Captain Judah stated. “Strive to be inclusive and support those serving alongside you. Share what you know.“
“Be present and communicate often. Show up and aspire to be 1% better than the day before,” Captain Judah encourages firefighters to channel this care for others making themselves better.
3. Learn
Captain Judah expressed the importance of reading articles and books, attending training opportunities, applying for scholarships to attend conferences, and nominating others for training opportunities and recognition.
Captain Judah’s progressive professionalism, hard work and desire to improve firefighting methods is recognized through earning her doctorate in public administration. She completed her dissertation on UAVs in the fire service. Lindsay shared a quote from Sarah Caldwell:
“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”
- Sarah Caldwell
Air Resource Officer Brian Gerold (left) and Lindsay Judah (right) at live fire trainings.
What changes do you foresee in the fire service?
Much like the military, fire service personnel are a cross-section of society. Humans vary in appearance, cultural beliefs, experiences, interests, knowledge, skills, talents, and upbringing. Captain Judah foresees the fire service leveraging this variance to growing alongside society.
“I foresee the fire service collectively continuing on a path of growth mindset where we capitalize on these differences and provide proactive, exceptional service to our respective communities.”
Captain Judah shared her closing story from her own perspective below.
“I moved four hours away from home for an opportunity to become a firefighter in Tallahassee, Florida, at the age of 21. Three months on the job, I was selected to attend hazmat technician training; the department was hosting an internal, in-person, 160-hour course.
I’d met a handful of personnel, otherwise I knew no one in the city or surrounding area. A few personnel were pulled off-shift to complete the four-week training, including Lt. Brad Deanda. He often offered to partner with me during the hands-on training, even though I knew very little, about anything really. He included me. He was patient with me even when I was his shepherd for donning and doffing his level A suit.
As years went by he always checked in on me — we were both on B-shift at the time. Studying for Engineer assessments, he was there. Studying for Lieutenant assessments, he was there. In July 2016, I was promoted to Training Officer and reassigned to the Training Division.
A couple of months later, then promoted, Capt. Deanda came by my office to say hello. He walked behind my desk, next to my office chair and told me how proud he was that I was now in Training and he knew I would do a good job. The Training Division was completing live-fire training throughout the cooler months. Capt. Deanda was a live-fire training instructor along with others who were hired off-shift to assist training personnel during night burns. Capt. Deanda denied the overtime opportunity, stating he was busy spending time with family before the holidays and planned to go hunting.
The day he came by my office to say hello was the last time I saw him. He was killed off-duty on December 11, 2016. He embodied what it means to be a leader. As many others do, I carry him in my heart as an example of how to treat people and lead in the fire service.“
The Florida State Seminoles football team honored Captain Deanda and his family at the 2016 Orange Bowl. Click here for more on that story.