She became and remained a sought-after speaker at the national level and one of the best presenters in the business. As Nancy’s role in the fire service continued to expand, her commitment to fire and life safety grew as well. For more than twenty years, Nancy played a critical leadership role in founding and organizing the annual Oklahoma Fire and Life Safety Education Conferences that drew attendees from throughout the United States, Canada, and beyond. By the time the 1990s came around, she had left state training and her role with IFSTA/Fire Protection Publications greatly expanded. Nancy became widely recognized and respected for her truly visionary leadership in institutionalizing injury prevention education as part of the core mission of the fire service. She also was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Before her retirement a couple of years ago, there was hardly a major national effort that related to fire and life-safety education that didn’t include Nancy Trench as part of the team. In the latter part of her career as assistant director at IFSTA/FPP, she began to focus more of her attention on Community Risk Reduction (CRR), Vision 20/20, and research projects nationally, and in her home state. Her research on smoke alarms and their effectiveness with the hearing impaired and those with other disabilities were of particular importance. Nancy is the recipient of many prestigious awards and has left a fire service legacy to be proud of. It’s impossible for me to capture all of her affiliations and achievements during her career, but I’m sure you get a general sense of her unique and diverse talents and contributions. Profiling her as a leader and high-achieving woman in fire service history adds significance to Woman’s History Month. Sher and I cherish our many years of friendship with Nancy and Winston.
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