Wendy Hause crashes stereotype of women’s work

by Judy Williams

Don’t tell Wendy Hause that being a firefighter is not a job for a girl because she will prove you wrong in a big way. On Feb.1, she was appointed Unadilla Township fire chief joining the elite group of 70 female fire chiefs out of more than 29,000 departments nationwide.
“I wanted to be a fireman as a young girl,” she explained, “after visiting a Detroit Fire station as a Girl Scout but was discouraged by adults who said that women couldn’t be firemen. After we moved to Gregory, I stopped at the fire house and talked with then Fire Chief Steve Richmond who encouraged me to apply.”
Born on the East side of Detroit, Hause was the sixth of nine children of Arthur and Shirley Fisette. She attended both Catholic and public schools in Detroit and received her bachelor’s degree in engineering.
In 1992 and while working at Ford Motor Company Livonia Testing Labs, Hause met husband Mitch. “Twenty-five years ago,” she said, “Mitch and I were scouting out places to move to. We kept coming back to Gregory again and again because the people were friendly, courteous, and helpful. This behavior is still alive and well today in our community.”
Hause broke into a big smile as she described their wedding in 1995. “We married in the backyard of our new home in Gregory on Christmas Eve.”
To describe Hause as a busy person is an understatement. The homemaker, mother of three girls, and a grandmother of two was a career woman working as an engineer for Ford Motor Company until her retirement in December 2018. Plus, as the acting fire chief, Hause served as the chairperson of the Gregory 4th of July committee.
When asked about the person that influenced her most, Hause didn’t hesitate. “My mother, Shirley, was a strong woman of great faith who raised nine children—I have five sisters and three brothers. One of these children, the oldest, was severely disabled both physically and mentally, yet my mother/parents cared for her at home while raising all of us. This was not an easy task, especially 50 and 60 years ago when the world wasn’t wheelchair or disabled-person friendly, yet our family still participated in many activities such as camping, tours, and scouts. She loved to laugh. She always hit the ground running. She set an awesome example to follow in my own life.”
As a member of the Gregory 4th of July Committee for the past 10 years and chairperson for about six of those years, Hause describes the committee as an energetic group of people who work with the Unadilla Firefighters’ Association to put on this wonderful event.
Among her many interests, Hause, a Master Gardener, enjoys large-scale gardening. She is also musician who enjoys food preservation, being self-reliant, emergency medicine, reading, ancestry, forest trail-riding, camping, and traveling.
Her advice to others? “It is never too late to follow your dreams, no matter your age,” she insisted. “The result may not look exactly like your original plans but may still fulfill them in different ways. Don’t sweat the small stuff and be humble. I believe in living by the Golden Rule…do unto others. I try to live that mantra each day.”
Chief Hause added, “I am so grateful to my husband, Mitch, for his never-ending support for me and the time that I devote to the fire department, and for getting involved wherever he can. My role as acting fire chief and now as fire chief was not at all expected when we planned our retirement activities last year. He’s wonderful about encouraging me, especially despite the change in our retirement plans.”
She said she is also indebted to her family for the assistance that they provide the department and the community.
“They never hesitate to give their time when asked,” she said. “All of the families of our fire department are so important. They support our members’ continued time away from home and family for calls, training, department and apparatus maintenance, fundraising and community events, and many get involved in what we do. We couldn’t do this without them.”