As a little girl, Kimberly Ragsdale remembers her father driving the fire truck home and blowing the siren so she could run out and greet him. A former engineer and captain with the Prescott (Arizona) Fire Department, he was the person who inspired her to become a firefighter.
“I’d run out and I just thought he was so cool,” she said. “He was kind of my hero growing up, and so he really inspired me to pursue a career. I didn’t know any better being little — I didn’t know it was harder for girls or different for girls to do it. It always stuck with me to have that passion to do it.”
Kimberly did not let being a woman stop her from pursuing a career in the fire service. At the age of 25, she tried out with the Phoenix Fire Department and was hired. Today, she has moved up the ranks and is now captain with the department. With 18 years of boots-on-the-ground experience, Kimberly now focuses on the administrative side of the fire service.
“I gained a deeper understanding of the management and leadership side of the fire service, and I understand how imperative strong support from administration is to boots on the ground,” she said. “Fire administration ensures that firefighters have the resources, leadership and structure they need to protect the community.”
Kimberly received a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in fire executive leadership from CSU.
“I decided to pursue a B.S. in fire administration due to the fact that the administration side is such a key piece of what we do,” she said. “The administrative side supports operations and is the piece that many firefighters lack. We spend so much time on training and skills that we often overlook how imperative fire administration is. This degree has taught me how to provide that support, lead and manage firefighters.”
Developing a Leadership Style
Kimberly’s degree program at CSU has helped expand her knowledge in leadership.
“My degree has allowed me to gain practical skills in leadership, management of personnel and organizational strategy,” she explained. “I feel like I can make better decisions because I have spent the time to become well informed. I am now thinking with a broader perspective and seeing things from a leadership role. I have gained more confidence and a greater ability to lead and be effective at my level in the organization.”
Receiving a bachelor’s degree in fire administration helped Kimberly develop her own leadership style.
“It’s opened my eyes to the different types of leadership, and then also how others perceive your leadership style,” she said. “You can think you’re a great leader, and somebody might be feeling a completely different way about your leadership just by the style you utilize or what are habits to you. My degree has overall broadened my skill set and my perspective, and it’s taught me to really look deeper into things.”
Additionally, Kimberly’s degree has helped her discover that by doing research, you can lead with better vision and clarity.
“Spend more time doing research, spend more time with whatever the topic is, researching it and learning more about it because it’s only going to help you to stop and slow down,” she explained. “That even comes to the leadership side where you’re stopping and slowing down and kind of seeing how you can best manage, lead and mentor people. It’s really helped me to see what type of leader I am, ways I can improve and things I can excel at.”
Leadership in High-Pressure Situations
Over the years, Kimberly has learned important lessons about leading her team in high-pressure situations.
“You have to remain calm, collected and rely on your training and rely on the team that you’ve built,” she said. “Part of that leadership aspect is developing that team and making sure your team is ready to go into any situation. Remain calm because everybody’s looking to you, and if you panic or you don’t show a command presence, the situation is going to get much worse.”
Navigating the administrative side is equally as important when it comes to leading and making big decisions in the department.
“With the administrative side, I think it’s just slowing down and doing that research, doing that strategic thinking, brainstorming, using maps, pros and cons…” she said. “Just trying to make the best decisions for your team and the outcome. Making sure you’re still getting that end goal and you’re working within the budgets and leading your team, encouraging and mentoring them along the way.”
Community Outreach
One of Kimberly’s favorite areas to work in is Community Risk Reduction (CCR), a proactive approach to educating local communities on public safety and averting disasters before they occur.
“There are so many things you can do for the community as far as outreach,” she said. “We did a lot of drowning prevention being here in Phoenix.”
Phoenix is known for its heat waves, with temperatures soaring in triple digits for days at a time, with one instance of rising heat for 31 days in a row.
“I was actually a public information officer in 2023 prior to getting my job at admin…,” she said. “We were getting really high temperatures and having consecutive days over 110 degrees,” she said. “And of course, with that comes fires, mountain rescues and drownings because everybody’s swimming.”
In order to deal with heat emergences effectively, the department developed certain protocols for efficiency. Being a large metropolitan city, there is a sizable population of people without housing, which leads to heat emergencies quite often during rising temperatures.
“Unfortunately, they’re laying on the hot concrete, and then they’ll have a heat emergency,” she said. “What we developed at Phoenix Fire is what they call the cold water immersion bag. It’s basically a bag where we put the individual having a heat emergency in the bag, and then we cover them with ice and water and transport them to the hospital. We’re able to lower their core temperature much faster than delaying it until they get to the hospital.”
The 602 Initiative
The number 602 is one of three area codes for Phoenix and is the original ZIP code for the city. The Phoenix Fire Department takes part in 602 Day, an annual celebration held June 2 to honor the ZIP code and to participate in cultural events and family-friendly activities.
Kimberly’s department implemented an initiative to honor the number 602 in a most valuable way to promote awareness and safety.
“We were able to give away 602 smoke detectors to the citizens of Phoenix,” she said. “Those are the fun things that I really enjoy doing. Getting out there and working with kids, so it was a lot of fun.”
Advice for Future Generations
Kimberly is the wife of an Air Force veteran and is also the mother of a 4-year-old little boy. She understands the challenges of completing coursework and balancing a career alongside the role of wife and mom. For those seeking a career in emergency services or public safety, Kimberly shares some helpful insight:
“I would say definitely go for it, learn more about it and make sure it fits your personality and career goals,” she said. “Do that research and make sure it’s absolutely what you want to do because although it’s very rewarding, it’s a very dangerous and stressful position. But it’s the greatest ever because you have that camaraderie with your fellow firefighters and you have almost a second family. I wouldn’t hesitate if I was someone else.”
Disclaimer: These testimonials may not reflect the experience of all CSU students.
Multiple factors, including prior experience, geography, and degree field, affect career outcomes.
CSU does not guarantee a job, promotion, salary increase, eligibility for a position, or other career growth.
