The Ever Evolving Journey of Triple F
in Mind, Body, and Spirit
When I, Gea Haff, began Triple F–Fabulous Female Firefighters! in 2013, three months after my mother died, I never imagined in my wildest dreams how far and fast this group would grow. I’m naturally private and shy, but my mother’s passing injected me with courage. She was emotionally brave and wasn’t afraid to put herself out there. It was as if, in her crossing, her spirit had infused and emboldened mine. So in a moment of utter spontaneity I went on FB and created Triple F. Very quickly I was struck by terror and considered taking it down. But I don’t quit. I’d started this so I’d see it through.
When we hit 100 members I was surprised and happy. Thank you Christina Brusakos for being one of them! When we hit one thousand, I was shocked. Now that we’re moving in on 3,000 I’m flabbergasted.
In these last four years many awesome things have happened with the group. We’ve gone to parades, discovered writers amongst us (Jennifer DeShon, Renee Murray, Kenia Trevino) ventured to the desert to train, and made deep, lasting friendships. Many of us have become new firefighters and paramedics, gotten promoted (Chiefs!), had babies, survived cancer, trained, trained, trained, and truly saved lives, sometimes in astonishingly courageous ways. We’ve hit a few bumps in the road, (the election was challenging!) learning as we go, yet through everything Triple F has blossomed and filled with women of incredible wisdom and strength.
And now the journey continues in a new and exciting way! Triple F is ripe with potential for training, membership, and unity and it needs special people to guide it toward that future. People who can show the world that not only are we here—we do exist—but that we are incredibly effective as well. So, I will be moving aside to focus more intensely on my writing (working on my 3rd novel) and my spiritual practice (more solitude and meditation). And, I am handing the reins of Triple F over to two women I trust completely and believe have the perfect qualities and balance to lead Triple F into the future. Tina Guiler and Jennifer DeShon have the skills and vision to guide and grow Triple F in a way that continues to foster the spirit of our group.
Triple F’s power lies with YOU, the members, the women who work their butts off with wisdom, courage, and open hearts.
Tina Guiler is a Lieutenant with Miami Dade Fire Rescue. She’s run a charity and saves sea turtles and has a strong and passionate heart. Her vision for Triple F is clear: to expand Triple F so it encompasses ALL female first responders, embracing those of EMS and Police, while reaching out to our brothers as well. Women and men in these fields are risking their lives to protect their communities and we all depend on each other. Tina’s mind is far more logistically and business oriented than mine, and she’s the one responsible for really getting our name out there with posters, t-shirts, challenge coins, license plates (yours rocks Kendra!) and upcoming decals. Stay tuned for more exciting stuff to come!
Jennifer DeShon works with San Bernardino County Fire Department. She’s a driver engineer and a special ops flight medic with significant wildland fire experience. She’s also a writer with the heart of a poet and the soul of a mystic. (You can read her work at TripleFRescue.com and Fire Rescue Magazine.) Jenn works with law enforcement in her role as flight medic and understands the different mind sets we all have.
With Tina and Jenn, Triple F is in strong, loving hands. I am traveling the path toward Fire Chaplaincy (as a Buddhist!) and will continue to write blogs for Triple F on resiliency, along with concrete practices to handle trauma, death, and suffering in a healthy and stabilizing way. Because Together We Are Stronger!
Although Triple F has leaders to keep it on track, its power lies in you, the members, the women who work their butts off with wisdom, courage, and open hearts. I truly believe women have specific assets that fire/ems and police are in desperate need of. (Focus, attention to detail, communication abilities, emotional awareness) Women are deeply resilient and have the ability to deal with suffering on a daily basis while maintaining compassion and open hearts—an evolutionary response that comes from millennia of caring for the most vulnerable amongst us: children, the sick and dying. Women are tough, brave, and brimming with wisdom. Let’s share it with the world. Always treating each other with kindness and respect, as sisters who look out for their family (even when they piss us off), reminding each other when we stray from the path to get back on it, reminding each other that our standards are high because we are more than capable of living up to them.
Because we are Triple F—Fabulous Female First Responders!
Fostering the Mind, Body, and Spirit so that we all shine like stars.
Like my mother, Bobbye Louise!
This photo was taken on Christmas Day, 2012, less than three months before she crossed over to the other side. She shone the whole way. Lord, I miss her!