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Fire Rescue ClassesFriday, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PMFriday, June 16Sabrina YawSpouse/Family

Preventing a Flashover: Surviving a Firefighter Relationship

By December 5, 2022February 16th, 2023No Comments

Preventing a Flashover: Surviving a Firefighter Relationship

Sabrina Yaw

Friday, June 16, 2023 
10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

Having a first responder spouse isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a challenge that few understand yet it also offers unique opportunities to grow as individuals and as a couple. Sabrina Yaw is presenting Preventing a Flashover: Surviving a Firefighter Relationship at Fire-Rescue 2023 to lend a guiding hand when it comes to navigating a relationship with such specific challenges. She will touch upon her own experiences as a wife of a firefighter, how trauma has played a role in her marriage, and how peer support is helping shift the dynamics of the fire family.

Sabrina Yaw 

 Sabrina Yaw, wife of Major Dane Yaw (Oklahoma City FD) and mother to two daughters, started her career as a therapist focusing on addiction counseling, parenting, and marital counseling. While her early career focused on that of the mental health of others it did not stop there. She spent later years directing a life changing camp in Cleveland County, OK for children who have experienced relational trauma. Alongside directing the camp, she was a Family Advocate for Child Abuse Response Team. Since then, she has taken her 27 years of experience as a wife of a first responder helping families, partners, and spouses of firefighters manage the stress, trauma, and unique situational experiences that come with that of a family of a first responder. After raising her two children, Sabrina was the Vice President for an International Non-Profit that focused on medical aid, education, and resources in West Africa. With Sabrina, it does not stop there; she is currently the Coordinator for the OKC Fire Department Peer Support Family Division. While her current career is Chief Operations Officer for a software development company, Sabrina’s selfless character and incredible leadership has allowed her to continue her passions for families by helping the OKC Fire Department and surrounding Fire Departments in co-founding Fire Life Together: Preventing a Flashover, an organization that encourages the importance of building family structure and tools to prevent flashovers in relationships along the way.