She's on fire

Julie Lanser is driven to do more.

She didn’t just join the Belgium Fire Department; she worked to become a full-time firefighter in Sheboygan.

She didn’t just take up yoga; she started her own business to teach it.

She didn’t just start running to stay fit; she has done more than 10 marathons and two ultra marathons.

“I always feel like I’m not doing enough,” the 31-year-old Belgium resident said.

Belgium Fire Chief Pat Wester politely disagrees. Lanser was chosen as the department’s 2024 Firefighter of the Year.

Wester said Lanser “is always present when we have some type of fundraising event or public relations event in the community” and “always steps up on a scene and is always willing to help with the demanding physical tasks on the fire ground.”

Lanser said she was surprised, flattered and honored.

Lanser joined the department in 2022 after hemming and hawing a bit. She sent Wester an email saying, “I am interested in joining your department. I have zero experience but am in great shape and willing to learn anything.”

Lanser did it in part to fill a void in her life. “I was feeling a little unfulfilled. I took a step back to figure out why. I wanted to do more, be someone people call for help,” she said.

The next thing Lanser knew she was taking firefighter classes, including courses on hazardous materials operations, emergency medical technician and ice rescue technician.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into. I just know it was something where I could get out and help and connect with people in the community,” she said.

It turns out she loved it so much she has made it her career. Lanser used to work in the office at Lanser Towing — she is distantly related to the business’ founding family — and in the office at Schmit Bros. auto dealership in Saukville. But firefighting became her passion. She joined the Sheboygan Fire Department last July, thanks to her experience in Belgium.

“They completely set me up for that. If it wasn’t for Belgium welcoming me and giving me a chance, I never could have made it to Sheboygan, which is something I’m grateful for,” she said.

Lanser will soon be elevated to firefighter/paramedic. She is taking paramedic classes as required by the Sheboygan Fire Department.

During her first emergency medical call, the patient asked Lanser how long she “has been doing this.” Lanser wasn’t about to reveal that she was a rookie.

“Fire and EMS are just there to solve people’s problems for them. You get there and you decide how we’re going to solve your problem. It’s really rewarding,” Lanser said.

Calls that come in the middle of the night don’t bother her. Her husband and stepdaughter don’t mind, either.

“My family is sleeping. Sometimes they don’t know I left,” Lanser said. “I come home, go for my run and start my day.”

Lanser took up running soon after graduating from Ozaukee High School in 2012. She loves running around 4 a.m. outside, even in 20 degrees below zero, and will only use a treadmill if it’s icy.

But that wasn’t enough. A few years into the hobby, Lanser decided she wanted to do a marathon.

After 11 or 12 of those, 26.2 miles at a time wasn’t enough. She tried a 50K (31 miles) on trails around Devil’s Lake. She remembers signing a waiver that warned participation could lead to injury or death.

“It was a pretty rigorous course,” she said. “I only fell once. I was impressed by that.”

But that wasn’t enough, either, so Lanser set her sights on an ultra marathon — 50 miles.

“I wanted to see how far I could go,” she said.

Lanser tried the Fall 50 that runs from the northern tip of Door County at Gills Rock south to Sturgeon Bay. She finished in 8 hours, 19 minutes.

“People at aid stations were telling me, ‘You’re the first woman we’ve seen come through,’” she said.

Lanser was the first woman to finish by nearly half an hour and was 22nd of 119 runners overall in cold and rainy conditions.

That was two years ago. Last year, Lanser shaved minutes off her time, finishing in 8 hours, 11 minutes, and was fifth among women and 28th of 150 participants.

She stays loose with yoga, picking up the hobby on a whim a decade ago.

“The first time I did yoga I was hung over after Boltonville Rain Days. I wanted to do something easy. It actually kicked my butt,” Lanser said.

She was hooked and soon began teaching it at the Feith Family YMCA in Saukville. Now she teaches at a studio owned by one of her friends in Random Lake.

Lanser dreams of someday opening her own studio.

Lanser actually finds similarities between firefighting and yoga.

“Firefighting is physical. You have to have that mobility that yoga gives you, and endurance,” she said.

A technique called box breathing helps calm her to save air in the tank during adrenaline-filled fire calls and relaxes her during challenging yoga poses.

She finds balance with her high-stress job and hobby with yoga and drawing. Someone asked her to do one sketch for a tattoo.

“That’s an honor. They will have that on them forever,” she said.

Being a woman in a male-dominated field hasn’t been an issue. Belgium’s department has several women. “You’re not going to lift as much as guys can,” she said. “I always felt anyone can do anything. If there’s something I can’t do, I just have to work at it extra. That’s what’s cool about the fire service.”

Hard work is in Lanser’s DNA. She grew up on a 60-cow dairy farm in the Town of Fredonia with two sisters.

She encourages people to join their local fire department. Many volunteer departments are looking for members.

“Everyone thinks they’re too busy, but if you can make one call every two months you’re still helping,” she said.

Lanser plans to do a 50-mile marathon again and has considered trying a 100-mile run.

“In the end you are what you do, not what you say you’re going to do. You can learn to do anything,” she said.