Butler County village names its first female assistant fire chief

Allen, 63, who has volunteered for the village of Seven Mile fire and rescue department for 44 years, recently was promoted to assistant fire chief, the first in the village’s history and the second in Butler County.

She was sworn in by Seven Mile Mayor Melissa Mick at Seven Mile Presbyterian Church where Allen is a member.

Allen replaced Brian Gault, who resigned his position, according to Fire Chief Marvin Hoffman.

Hoffman, 73, has volunteered with the fire department for 55 years, the last seven as chief. He said promoting Allen was the obvious choice due to her dedication to the village and the fire department that has 16 volunteers.

“She earned her keep,” said Hoffman, noting Allen has consistently risen through the ranks of the department. “She’s more than qualified for that position.”

Allen prefers to be known as a firefighter and paramedic instead of the village’s first female assistant fire chief.

“For me, it’s all about serving my community,” said Allen, who has retired as emergency services dispatcher for the city of Trenton, but still works as a bailiff in Trenton’s Mayor Court. “I’m just glad that the community has faith and trust in me. It makes me proud.”

Allen, a 1979 Edgewood High School graduate, said she still enjoys the challenges connected to the public safety profession. Every call is different, she said. Her goal is to provide the best care to those in need, while protecting those on the fire department.

The department also provides life squad services to a portion of Milford Twp., and mutual aid to surrounding communities, Hoffman said.

Serving as a volunteer firefighter in a rural community like Seven Mile that has 721 residents sometimes can be difficult. Seven Mile doesn’t have the budget of departments with full-time staff, Allen said.

“We don’t have the luxury of a lot of manpower,” she said. “We can’t afford the most expensive equipment.”

But at the end of the day, Allen thinks about her early training as a candy striper in the emergency room when she assisted the medical staff.

“It gave me a real love of serving the community,” she said.

And that’s still true today.

The Journal-News periodically runs a “Good News” feature in the Saturday edition. If you have a story idea, send it to contributing writer Rick McCrabb at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.