Nomination Deadline: October 3
This is the award for the mentor who has spent decades quietly shaping careers — sitting across from new recruits, sharing what they know, and making the path a little less steep for everyone who comes after. It is also the award for the department that built a recruitment program from scratch, for the union leader who pushed for policy change before it was popular, and for the organization that crossed provincial lines to help women in fire service feel less alone in their work.
The 3 'E' Award is deliberately broad in its eligibility: any individual, Crew, department, or organization — regardless of whether they are part of a fire service — can be recognized for their contribution to FSWO's mandate. The criteria focus on impact: Has this person or organization made it meaningfully easier for women to enter, remain in, advance within, or lead in the fire service? Have they changed something that needed changing?
Strong nominations speak to the depth and duration of that impact — not just a single moment, but a pattern of mentorship, advocacy, program development, community building, or exemplary conduct that has altered the trajectory of women's experience in the fire service.
Past recipients include Fire Service Women British Columbia (2023), Communications Acting Supervisor Kristen Whittall of Oshawa Fire Service (2024), and the FSWCP led by Lt. Sarah Peto of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services (2025).
Who to nominate: An individual, group, department, or organization — FSWO member or otherwise — whose consistent, demonstrable effort to educate, encourage, and empower women in the fire service has produced lasting change.
