HUNTINGTON – Huntington fire chief Jan Rader joined 99 of the most influential people in the world on Time magazine’s TIME 100 list, which was released Thursday morning.
Rader has traveled the country advocating for drug recovery and fighting the opioid epidemic, all while leading the men and women of the Huntington Fire Department in Huntington.
The annual TIME 100 features the world’s most significant leaders, scientists, activists and more. While TIME editors have the final say on who makes the list, readers are also able to vote for who they felt most influenced by throughout the year.
Rader, listed under "Pioneers" in the publication, has served more than 20 years in the firefighting profession. She first decided to be a first responder as she worked as a jeweler and witnessed a woman have a heart attack outside of her store.
In 1994, she became the third woman ever to serve with the Huntington Fire Department, eventually becoming West Virginia’s first professional female fire chief in 2017 shortly after Carl Eastham resigned.
The news of her honor was first announced by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who composed the biography of Rader for the magazine.
"As the first woman to lead a professional fire department in West Virginia, she broke down barriers for young women across our state and continues to serve as the type of leader West Virginia and America need right now," Manchin wrote. "If every city had a chief like Jan Rader, our country would be a better place."
Rader's efforts, along with the work of others, to respond to the epidemic recently were chronicled in the Oscar-nominated Netflix short documentary "Heroin(e)."
According to Fairness West Virginia, a statewide civil rights advocacy organization, Rader learned of the her nomination by email and told the group she was humbled by the news.
“I don’t even know what to say. I was shocked to receive the email, but I think it speaks to what we are doing in Huntington to not only combat the opioid epidemic, but discrimination as well,” she said in a news release issued by Fairness West Virginia, of which she is a member of the board of directors. “I’m keeping this in perspective. I might be out front because of the documentary and for being a spokesperson on these issues, but I am just one of many, many people doing this work under the leadership of Mayor Williams.”
The group's executive director, Andrew Schneider, said he could think of no one more deserving of the honor.
“We are so proud of Jan and the incredible work that she does every day for the city of Huntington, the LGBTQ community and the state of West Virginia,” Schneider said. “From the compassion she shows to people battling addiction, to her courage in standing up for marginalized people, it’s no wonder that she has caught the attention of TIME.”
