Krista Diedrich is a loan officer by day, but she dreams of becoming a volunteer firefighter at night and on weekends.
She was one of 17 recruits to turn out for the June 23 Women’s Fire Service Expo hosted by the Elk River Fire Department and the Minnesota Fire Chief’s Association, and she was among the most eager to give each of the expo’s work stations a shot.
That included using the Jaws of Life to burst through a car door and the emotions of one of her family’s toughest stretches of life when they lost her sister’s husband, who died in a June 24, 2016, automobile wreck.
When asked who wanted to try the hydraulic apparatus first, Diedrich’s hand shot up. With 65 pounds of gear already on, she went to work to pry apart mangled metal from a crashed vehicle and found herself thinking of her future.