Captain Andrea Burton
By Tabitha Ervin,
Editorial Director
Andrea Burton remembers as a little black girl feeling that people were watching her sometimes. She also recalls every detail from an incident in the 4th grade when a little girl whose name she remembers called her the N-word at school on the playground. She was a pretty good kid and quiet but that day, she released her anger on this little girl. It was her first and only fight she’s ever been in. She also remembers sometimes having an identity crisis growing up but being able to navigate both black and white worlds. Now, Captain Burton is the inaugural chairperson of the first ever Fort Wayne Fire Department Diversity and Inclusion Committee whose mission is, “Together, creating a culture of diversity and inclusion not just in words, but in practice that instills respect, dignity, and impartiality in all facets of the Fort Wayne Fire Departments mission of saving lives”.
She was nominated and recently received the Diversity Vanguard Community Partner Award at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration Breakfast hosted by Indiana Tech University. The committee started officially in March 2021 after the summer of the Unity march in Fort Wayne where Chief Lahey was front and center with all that was happening downtown. After this, he told about his experiences to some of his team that included Andrea and said what can the fire department do and Andrea was in a position and had interest so she stepped up to serve in this capacity. In her research to get the committee started, she connected with Lisa Givan, Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Belonging and Chief Diversity Officer at Indiana Tech and thus began a relationship that turned into the first ever joint book study between the two groups. The group spent 4 sessions over the summer together dialoguing and reading, “The Black Friend on Being a Better White Person” and ended with a group social event. The dialogue and connections that the group made were incredible; filled with openness, honesty, transparency and learning for all.
Andrea’s journey to being a firefighter is connected to her father, now a retired firefighter who encouraged her as she had some frustration in college from Butler to IU Bloomington that she could be a great firefighter. Once she applied she was focused on getting it done! She has enjoyed her 21 years serving in various capacities from being a certified firefighter, inspector, emergency medical technician and public safety educator. She loves engaging with the community and making connections. She says, “the easiest Fire to fight is the one that never starts”. In her work, she also enjoys collaborating with organizations on safety prevention and evacuation plans.
She eventually finished her degree and is now leading the FWFD Diversity Committee to focus on actionable steps that are sustainable and deliberate. They want to move past just checking the box to having conversation, activities, community engagement along with recruiting and retaining.
Congrats to Captain Andrea Burton! We salute you for your work in the community!
