MI Prevention Community Risk Reduction Chief, MI Prevention State of Michigan – LARA

Saving lives and preventing the cause of everyone’s “worst day” is part of who Kymberly Pashkowsky is. A mother of five and a Master of Public Health, she spent over 30 years in fire, medical, and emergency trauma services. After decades of answering the community’s calls, Kymberly noticed the messages firefighters were sharing to reduce fatal fires were going unheard. This challenge is what got her interested in developing a statewide prevention program.

Today, Kymberly is the CRR Division Chief for MI Prevention, a program that provides sustainable community risk reduction programs to minimize fire deaths, injuries, and property loss. The program partners with over 36 organizations, all of which are mentored by Kymberly herself. Since 2019, the program’s more than 800 partners have installed over 136k smoke alarms across Michigan, reducing fatal fires by 18%. Kymberly also champions diversity for volunteer and women firefighters, and has presented at multiple events on numerous topics.

Kymberly says, “My dream is to build a prevention house activity center where school field trips can take place, and anyone can visit to learn more through interactive education about reducing preventable risk for themselves and their families. When I don’t read fatal fire reports and hear those 911 recordings from fatal fires anymore, we’ve made a difference.”