Halli Leonhardt, a senior at MSHS, is a volunteer firefighter in Green Mountain Falls, and hopes to continue her career as one.
Ever since she was a kid, Leonhardt has wanted to be a firefighter. “I would run around with my little firefighter helmet,” Leonhardt said. “I always really liked fire trucks, I had the little toy figures, and I really liked to play and pretend to be a firefighter.”
Leonhardt was also inspired to go into firefighting by her dad, Shaun Leonhardt.
“My dad’s a firefighter, which I also thought was cool,” Leonhardt said. “I got to go and see a lot of things for his work. We went on rides and just hung out at the station even before I was old enough to do anything.”
Leonhardt believes that her dad’s passion for firefighting influenced her interest in it. “The light in his eyes, like the sparkle as he’s explaining all of the tools and everything to me, and just watching him keep his crew safe, I saw the passion that he had for it, and it made me want that,” Leonhardt said.
The chief of the Cascade Fire Department, Steve Murphy, was introduced to Leonhardt around a year ago by her dad, with hopes of getting Leonhardt a volunteering opportunity at the station.
Murphy’s first impression of Leonhardt was that she was shy and quiet, but as he got to know her, he got more familiar with her. “She’s funny, she’s got a great sense of humor, she’s got a quick wit, and she is a hard worker,” Murphy said.
Leonhardt’s training officer, Lauren Bishop, agrees that her first impression of Leonhardt convinced Bishop that she was quiet and shy.
Although Leonhardt seemed to be quiet and sweet, Bishop was still worried about the level of responsibility that Leonhardt’s position required. “I was concerned that she was not only in school, but she had a job; and I didn’t think she would have enough time to fulfill her duties with the fire department,” Bishop said.
After some time at the station, Bishop discovered that Leonhardt had no problem upholding her duties. “She is incredibly determined. She makes time for not only her work and school responsibilities, but also for the fire department,” Bishop said.
Before joining the company on probation, Leonhardt was required to form bonds with other members, and then get voted on. “It was like a two week period in the beginning where you come to training,” Leonhardt said. “I came to two trainings before I got voted on; and at the trainings, I would volunteer and talk to people, get to know them, so that hopefully they would like me and want me to join.”
After Leonhardt was voted on, she was assigned a training officer and a probationary member booklet. She was required to complete either Firefighter I Interior, Wildland, or EMT. “I did Wildland because I was most interested in that,” Leonhardt said.
After high school, Leonhardt wants to go to college for Biomedical Engineering and then the Fire Academy after.
“My plan after that is to go and work at either Colorado Springs Fire Department or Monument Fire because my grandpa works there and my dad works there, and it would be cool to have three Leonardts in one department. I think that would be a nice little family tree,” Leonhardt said.
Her training officer is confident in her, especially if she’s able to get more years of experience. “I can easily see her continuing through and being a leader,” Bishop said, “I am extremely proud to see her grow.”
