Brenda DeRamus’ Passion Project

“This job is all about building relationships,” Brenda DeRamus explains about working in Emergency Management. “People don’t always understand what our job is; but, if they know you care about them, then they at least know that what we are doing is to help keep them safe.”

Brenda has been deputy director for the Office of Emergency Management and Safety (OEMS) for seven years but joined the OEMS staff in 2011 as an Emergency Management Coordinator. Shortly after she became a Nighthawk in 2012, Brenda took on a multiyear project that remains ongoing to this day.

“When I first started here, I noticed that none of the exterior building doors were numbered. This is problematic for first responders who might need to access the building through a specific door during a fire or an active shooter event. In emergencies, entering and exiting through a specific door could mean the difference between life or death, both for our people and the responders.”

Before coming to NOVA, Brenda DeRamus worked in law enforcement. She served her community as a deputy sheriff and as a captain for the court services division. While working as a sheriff’s deputy, the sheriff she was working for was not re-elected and a new sheriff took over. Brenda was the only deputy to be re-appointed by the new sheriff. She attributes this to her values and the relationships she developed on the job.

Brenda was so highly regarded and respected as a deputy that she was offered a third re-appointment as a deputy, when a third sheriff was elected. Instead, she chose to take a position as a lieutenant with the court services division where she was later promoted to captain. In addition to serving her community in law enforcement, Brenda spent a number of years volunteering with her local fire department as an auxiliary member.

Her years of experience as a first responder gave her a unique perspective when it came to serving and protecting her fellow NOVA Nighthawks. She explains that one of the reasons this project has taken so long was having to convince others that giving exterior building doors a number was important. “I started to explain it by describing a scenario of a firefighter entering a building to put out a fire, and if they open the wrong door they might cause a flashover. Or a police officer trying to enter the building to find an active shooter, but he opens the door to find himself in the sprinkler control room instead of the stairwell.” Brenda stated that this visual helped others understande the importance of numbering the exterior building doors.

Over the eight years she has worked on her passion project, Brenda developed her own unique door numbering system. This system worked so well that a number of other agencies have adopted it. Brenda ultimately attributes the success of her project to the relationships she formed with other staff members here at NOVA. “I think people noticed that I tried to check in on them, that I took the extra time to talk with them. I hope they recognized that I cared about them and their well-being first and foremost.”

While this project might look like it is complete, Brenda strives to perfect it. She stores all the building maps in a large white binder she keeps in her office. She periodically pulls the binder out, walks and re-walks the building layouts, noting corrections that need to be made. Brenda will likely never feel this project is complete and it may appear to some that she is simply passionate about her work. However, in truth, Brenda’s passion is for all the relationships she has formed at NOVA, for her people and for her NOVA community.

Submitted by:
Hayley Holmes, OEMS, HHolmes@nvcc.edu