A fire fighter-led fitness program in St. Paul, Minnesota, is helping more women prepare for careers in the fire service. Backed by St. Paul, MN Local 21 and supported through the IAFF’s Fit to Thrive (F2T) program, Twin Cities Female Firefighter Fitness (TCF3) offers hands-on training in a supportive environment to help candidates meet the physical aspects of the job.
“TCF3 started about a year and a half ago,” said Local 21 Fire Fighter and TCF3 Founder Sarah Reasoner. “I was helping with the city’s physical entrance test and saw that a number of women needed more time and guidance.”
TCF3 now hosts monthly workouts and a few expos each year. The program helps women prepare for the fire academy, enter the job, and build careers in the fire service.
“One big plus is that we can use our department’s training facility,” said Local 21 member and program co-lead Megan Roesler-Turner. “We run stair climbs in the tower with weight vests, use the Keiser sled, the dummy drags which are all tasks you’ll see on the job.”
Trainers received guidance through F2T.
“They helped us get all our trainers certified,” said Local 21 member and program co-lead Martha Fecht.
F2T is a program that was created to help more fire fighters be more active more often and is designed to support the broader Wellness-Fitness Initiative (WFI). It offers education, training, resources, and support for fire fighters and fire departments to build, grow, and sustain exercise-related initiatives.
“It’s incredibly encouraging to see members reaching out to recruit and, more importantly, prepare the next generation of fire fighters to succeed and thrive in our profession,” said Sean DeCrane, Assistant to the General President for Health & Safety. “The goal of the F2T program is to improve our members’ health and well-being, and seeing this program come to life with the success they’ve had is a great example of the spirit behind F2T.”
The fire fighters leading TCF3 completed the F2T 101 course and hold the designation of Peer Fitness Trainer (PFT) within the F2T program.
“TCF3 is a strong example of how locally driven efforts, when supported by union leadership and IAFF programs like Fit to Thrive, can address real needs in the fire service,” said 5th District Vice President Mitchell Mahlon. “It’s encouraging to see members creating solutions that strengthen recruitment and support candidate success.”
Local 21 President Kyle Thornberg said when TCF3 first proposed their idea , it was a “no-brainer” for the Local to support it.
The goal of the F2T program is to improve our members’ health and well-being, and seeing this program come to life with the success they’ve had is a great example of the spirit behind F2T.
Assistant to the General President for Health & Safety Sean DeCrane
“Our immediate response was: How can we help? Supporting an initiative created by our own members, in St. Paul, to train and inspire women to become fire fighters feels like an investment in their union coming full circle,” said Thornberg.
Women currently make up just 9% of fire fighters nationwide. Thornberg credits TCF3 for actively working to increase that number.
“All the credit goes to these ladies for creating and advancing a thoughtful, mission-driven program that filled a gap we’ve known was there but lacked a clear framework on how to address it,” said Thornberg. “TCF3 has grown into a grassroots pipeline for mentorship, readiness, and representation in a profession that truly needs all three, and I’m proud that it’s built off the IAFF’s Fit to Thrive programming.”
So far, the results are encouraging.
“Some women come once or twice and realize it’s not for them and that’s totally fine,” said Reasoner. “But some have gone on to join St. Paul Fire or the EMT program. A few more joined Minneapolis or other departments. Others are still working out with us or in training programs.”
And now, interest in TCF3 is spreading.
“We’ve been asked to expand TCF3 across Minnesota,” said Fecht. “This all started with Sarah’s idea, and Local 21 helped fund the training that made it happen.”
It is also because of initiatives such as TCF3 that the St. Paul Fire Department and Local 21 were asked to serve as one of seven new WFI Task Force city representatives that will serve the 5th District and help to shape future wellness and fitness initiatives for the broader fire service.
