MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Kristen Wiens-Brubaker, a firefighter for the South Hutchinson Fire Department and Reno County District 3 Fire Department, and an EMT for Rice County EMS, is the Allen Samuels CDJR First Responder of the Month.
Wiens-Brubaker didn’t plan to be a first responder. She was going into teaching but realized it wasn’t her “cup of tea.” She is the daughter of a retired Hutchinson Fire Department captain, whom she now works with at Reno County Fire District 3 in Nickerson.
She was nominated by her husband, who is also a South Hutch firefighter and a member of the Kansas Air National Guard as a firefighter.
Wiens-Brubaker describes her typical day as getting up, getting her daughter off to school, and picking up a shift if one is available. Once she gets home at night, she could be called out if needed.
In his nomination of his wife, he says, “She is a loving, all-heart mother of a very active and beautiful little girl, a firefighter for two separate fire departments, a part-time EMT for an EMS agency that gets busier every year, and a current student in the HCC Fire Science Program,” where she is working to complete her fire science degree.
She shows dedication and commitment to her community, proving herself capable by earning the position to be in charge of the fire truck she’s on—driving any of them, suiting up in the back seat, and helping to try to save someone’s life in the back of an ambulance or at the scene of a call.
She says the highlight of the job is getting to help and meet people. She also says you have to be a people person with the drive and desire to help others.
Kristen Wiens-Brubaker thanks the public for its support of first responders.