To the USBR, a request to honor a hero

To whom it may concern:

It has come to our attention that the Bureau of Reclamation is currently constructing a new fire

department facility at the Grand Coulee Power Office in Grand Coulee, Washington.

Along with this, we are excited to make you aware of an opportunity the Bureau has to recognize and pay tribute to Toni Jean Godsil, the first Bureau-hired female firefighter, hired as part of a controversial 1989 pilot program, who tragically lost her life in the line of duty. Before she did, though, she proved that men and women can effectively work 24-hour shifts together in firehouses. In so doing, her pioneering spirit and can-do attitude blasted open the doors of opportunity to women everywhere.

Mrs. Godsil died August 6, 1990, while fighting a wild land fire in Douglas County. While working on foot fighting spot fires, an unexpected wind whipped up the fire and she became surrounded by flames and was soon overtaken by the fire. At the time, she was the only fatality the department had ever suffered, and her loss was felt throughout both the department and the community in which she lived and served.

Toni was hired by the Bureau at the GCPO in 1988 as a Communications Equipment Operator. One year later, she became the Bureau’s first female firefighter, while also volunteering at the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department. Her supervisors and those who knew her best described her as enthusiastic and always giving 110 percent.

Though her working environment involved unnecessary harassment from her counterparts in a male­dominated field, Toni endured valiantly, demonstrating that even gender gaps in firehouses could be bridged. When asked why she always worked so hard, in spite of abrasive, gritty, and stressful conditions, she replied that she was opening doors for women everywhere. She sincerely believed she could prove that women were just as capable, even in the arduous field of firefighting, as the men who dominated it.

We feel it would be appropriate to show tribute to this pioneer in her field by naming the new GCPO firehouse after Toni. We have communicated with many Bureau officials about this in recent years, including Lorrie Lee, and understand well that naming a federal facility is not something that is ever done lightly. However, we formally request your consideration of this worthy effort to pay tribute to our mother, sister, friend, and hero.

If naming the building is deemed unfeasible for whatever reason, we respectfully request that an appropriate tribute be made in her honor, perhaps during the building dedication ceremony and/or another fitting venue. Surely there is a suitable way to honor her and the work she did for women across the country.

Thank you for your kind consideration of our request. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

Respectfully,

The family of the

late Toni Godsil