LYNNE KLAFT
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

LEOMINSTER - For the past 13 years, Audra L. Brown drove her kids to baseball and football games, was a Cub Scout den mother and church youth group leader, and did all the things that come with being a mother of five children. But when the fire bell rang at Central Station, she dropped everything, put on 90 pounds of gear and went "on scene" with the rest of the firefighters.

Ms. Brown is a "first" in the 160-year history of the department - the first woman to be appointed to the department and, on June 28, the first woman to be appointed a lieutenant.

"I thought that there already was a female on the department when I saw the name Kim Brown on the roster when I was appointed in 1997," said Ms. Brown, but to her chagrin, she found out that "Kim" was a male firefighter. They still kid each other over this case of mistaken identity.

After 13 weeks at the Massachusetts Fire Academy and on her first day of work on July 3, 1997, the fire bell rang and she experienced her first fire call at Carter Place.

"We were right out the door on my first day, which broke the ice with the guys. They didn't have to wait and see if I could do the job," said Ms. Brown.

Female firefighters and officers are still considered a "rare breed" in the commonwealth, according to Ms. Brown.

"But you know, the standards for graduating from the fire academy are the same for males and females. You either can or can't do it. I've seen people not be able to make it through the first day, but that's what the academy is for," she said.

Although not from a traditional "fire family," where generations of firefighters join departments over the years, Ms. Brown said she was a "wicked tomboy growing up in Southern California, watching TV shows like `Emergency!' as a kid."

"I took first aid classes, was a lifeguard and gravitated to the Fire Explorers in high school, where we learned about the fire service," said Ms. Brown.

During her stint in the U.S. Navy, she was involved in shipboard firefighting and rejoined the Fire Explorers when stationed in San Diego.

"I found it was something I really wanted to do," she said.

After moving to the East Coast, she was appointed to the Leominster Fire Department in 1997, and graduated

from the Massachusetts Fire Academy.

Ms. Brown is assigned to fire prevention and inspection duties, a job she feels should be mastered before going "back on the floor."

"Working prevention and inspections familiarizes you with layout of buildings and systems. I noticed that officers who spent time doing this kind of work know buildings and can make a difference at a fire. I was much more comfortable with them. I need to obtain this knowledge and confidence before going out on the floor. It makes everyone safer," said Ms. Brown.

She is also doing research on CO, or carbon monoxide, venting problems in homes. During a classroom discussion, with more than 100 inspectors in the room, all raised their hands when asked if they had problems with CO vent systems. They agreed that furnace vents should be higher off the ground to prevent carbon monoxide backups into residences.

"We get a lot of CO calls with faulty boilers, old CO detectors which should be replaced every five years, but cities and towns have their own bureaus with different code enforcements," said Ms. Brown, in anticipation that the research can be presented to the Fire Prevention Association and Board before winter.

"But I do enjoy working with the public to prevent and educate, and see them before a fire happens. Challenges? I still have to walk in the door every day and prove I can do the job," she said.

What does the lieutenant do in her spare time? She has a seven-piece drum set in the family music room and jams with her husband and neighborhood friends. She is training for a mini-triathlon

with a group of friends from church, helps out with her son's booster football club, is finishing up her fire science degree at the local community college, tries to make all of her children's games, takes her daughter to music lessons and attends a weekly Bible study.

But when that fire bell rings at Central Station .

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August 19, 2010