“ Everybody needs a voice. One voice can change things. One person can change things. One word can change things.”
Fire Chief Jan Rader. Photo by Rebecca Kiger / Netflix.
Fire Chief Jan Rader Fighting More Than Fires
Jan Rader has worked for the Huntington Fire Department for 23 years, and in April 2017, she was sworn in as the first female fire chief in West Virginia’ s history. As chief, Rader considers herself responsible for ensuring the safety of all 95 members of the department and all of the citizens of the city of Huntington— an admirable goal that isn’ t limited to fighting fires.
“ Twenty-six percent of calls for the fire department are for overdoses,” says Rader.“ All firefighters in Huntington have a minimum of CPR and first-aid training. In 2012, we started making all new hires become EMT basics, and that requires 160 hours of medical training, which helps better prepare our firefighters to respond for EMS. About 50 percent of the time, we arrive before Cabell County EMS, so we have the opportunity to start life-saving procedures before they get there.”
Over the course of her career, Rader has worked as a medic, registered emergency room nurse and firefighter, and she has served on the Mayor’ s Office of Drug Control Policy since 2014 as part of her personal commitment to fighting the addiction crisis that plagues Huntington. Part of that commitment includes changing the way overdose victims are treated by first responders.
“ Everybody has been touched by addiction,” she says.“ After working in the medical field, I can see how every one of us is just one bad time, one bad trauma away from being stuck in that rut, and it breaks my heart to see anybody mistreated. There is a stigma attached to suffering from addiction. We’ re automatically assuming these people have no value, and that is not the case. I see people from every walk of life every day. I go into
some of the richest homes in Huntington, and I go to some of the poorest. I have learned that your words can make or break somebody. We can’ t fix somebody unless they want to be fixed, but we certainly don’ t have to make their situation worse. I want people treated as I would want to be treated and as I would want my family members treated.”
Rader, Keller and Freeman are all connected by Cabell County’ s adult drug court program, and despite her demanding job, Rader continues to serve on the treatment team, offering a medical perspective to help those in recovery. She uses her inside knowledge in a patient advocate role to help set up doctor appointments for drug court participants.
“ Everybody needs a voice. One voice can change things. One person can change things. One word can change things.”
“ I’ ve learned more about addiction from those suffering from addiction than I ever did from a textbook or classroom,” she says.“ Most of these people started out the same way— with a legal prescription for a narcotic. They became hooked very quickly, and when they couldn’ t get pills anymore, they moved on to heroin. After working as a nurse, I also know there is a lot of red tape in the medical community. Even if you know the system, it’ s hard to maneuver, and for somebody suffering from withdrawals, to maneuver that is almost impossible.”
Rader is confident a plateau in drug overdoses is on the horizon for the city of Huntington and is excited about the work the city has been doing to take care of its people.
“ We had a lot of irons in the fire long before this documentary came about,” she says.“ We have been writing grants and working diligently on this problem for three full years.”
One of the city’ s initiatives, which recently came to fruition, was the creation of a quick response team, or QRT, that is made up of paramedics from Cabell County EMS, officers from the Huntington Police Department and mental health counselors who go out and visit people within 72 hours of their overdose to offer treatment services.
“ You can see from the documentary that it’ s a very negative encounter when someone overdoses,” says Rader.“ It’ s negative for the first responders who are seeing the same people over and over, for the person who overdoses, for any friends and family who are there witnessing this event and for anybody they encounter at the hospital. The good thing about the QRT is that when an undercover cop, health counselor and paramedic show up at your door and say,‘ We’ re just here to check on you. We were worried about you. Here are some treatment options,’ that’ s not a negative experience.”
According to Rader, while being featured in the“ Heroin( e)” documentary has made her schedule busier, she is happy it is sparking important conversations.
“ I certainly didn’ t set out to be a spokesperson for first responders or the initiatives we are doing in Huntington, but I will gladly take on that role,” she says.“ People need to understand what is going on because it’ s not just in Huntington, it’ s not just in West Virginia— it is all over the country.”
Since the documentary debuted, Rader has received emails and Facebook messages from more than 500 people all over the world, many of whom are in longterm recovery.
“ They’ re thankful somebody is a kind of cheerleader for them and recognizes the hardship they went through,” she says.“ I think that is important because everybody needs a voice. One voice can change things. One person can change things. One word can change things.”
WWW. WVEXECUTIVE. COM WINTER 2018
61