Couple a singular addition to 2004 firefighter calendar
That was the intention.
The couple — in real life Jason and Amy Moorhead of Woodinville — are two of 21 firefighters featured in the 2004 Washington State Council of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation calendar. The Moorheads are the only husband-and-wife team in the Woodinville Fire Department and a rarity in fire service. They're a first for the calendar, too.
"We've had a father and son, we've had brothers, we've had twins but this is the first married couple we've ever had in the calendar," said Rod Heivilin, executive director of the Burn Foundation.
Sales have grown every year since the calendar was launched in 1996 by Kirkland firefighter Mike Aguilar.
Heivilin said the 2003 calendar grossed $200,000, up from $130,000 in 2002 and $100,000 in 2001. The calendar raises additional money for other charities by auctioning chances to judge the would-be models. Winning bidders have paid as much as $10,000.
The proceeds from the $13.95 calendar provide burn-research grants at Harborview and the University of Washington hospitals. Projects include a new-parents program and smoke detectors for low-income people.
That was part of what persuaded Jason Moorhead to become a model. Like Amy, he became a firefighter because he wanted to help people. He just didn't expect to do it by taking the shirt off his back.
"I'm not a take-off-clothes kind of guy. The other guys are six-packed (muscled) and tan, not me," Jason said.
He accompanied Amy to the calendar tryouts and was persuaded to make it a package deal. He's not looking forward to tomorrow night's calendar launch party at the Seattle Design Center because firefighters will auction off their shirts.
Traditional firefighting has long been a family affair for both firefighters. Amy was enraptured by her stepfather's stories as a firefighter with the Seattle Fire Department and Jason relished hearing his older brother's experiences in Woodinville.
The couple even met in the line of duty.
"I was in the Bothell Fire Department," Amy said. "I was helping Woodinville in 1998 with a video on showing women how to do the physical testing for the job. We went to lunch as a group and Jason was there."
Their first date started at a hockey game and ended at a firehouse — the Ballard Firehouse, a concert venue. Their romance was a hot topic in both the Bothell and Woodinville fire departments.
"I got ribbed a lot when I was dating Jason," Amy, 31, said. "Being in the Bothell Fire Department was like having 45 brothers."
In hindsight, they're amazed they didn't meet sooner. Woodinville is a small town and they both lived there. Jason, 34, graduated from Woodinville High School just before Amy van Loben Sels started there. They swam on the same swim teams, but at different times.
When they became engaged, Amy transferred to the Woodinville Fire Department and they now work the same shift but out of different stations. Amy drives either a fire engine or an aid car; Jason is a medic.
Their off-duty lives are as busy as firefighters on the Fourth of July.
They recently added a third Belgium Malinois, a dog about the size of a German shepherd, to their home. Amy teaches at the Kirkland Dance Center and Jason is president and CEO of Emerald Medical Services, a special-needs transportation company. But they said they'll make time for the appearances that come along with being in the calendar.
"We both became firefighters because we want to help people," Amy said. "Being in the calendar and going to the charity events is just another way to help."
Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com
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