Today we’d like to introduce you to Sierra Brown.
Sierra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began my journey as a wildland firefighter in 2003 with the Forest Service on an engine near Ventura CA after I graduated from college. I never intended to make it my career. It was just something I thought I would enjoy during the summers because I had grown up in the outdoors, in the mountains, camping and backpacking. I ended up working on a Hotshot crew for three additional years while I was working on my graduate degree in Studio Art at Cal State Long Beach and this allowed me to graduate loan free. I thought I would then become an art professor but wasn’t quite ready to give up my life as a Hotshot. I ended up staying with the Forest Service until 2015. That year I was working on a helicopter out of Lake Arrowhead and had applied for a job with San Diego City Fire Department, was offered a job and I decided to take it. My art professor’s dreams had dwindled as I had decided to commit to being a firefighter.
Working for a municipal Fire Department was a huge adjustment for me, and although I was happy with my new life in San Diego, I had another dream that I still wanted to pursue–that of becoming a smokejumper. Smoke jumping is a specialized field that offers a self-sufficient and quick response initial attack resource that can reach remote areas by parachuting out of planes to wildland fires. Assuming the Smokejumpers would hire me, I asked the Chief of our department at that time, Brian Fennessy, if I could take a six month leave of absence to pursue this goal. He supported my request, and at 38 years old I left for Redding CA hoping that I could pass rookie training. It was very difficult for me, being slightly afraid of heights, but I passed!
I was able to do 25 jumps before I had what turned out to be a very bad injury from an awkward landing on a practice jump. My femur jammed into my pelvis, fractured the head of my femur, tore my labrum, ruptured and tore the ligament that connects to the head of the femur, and damaged my groin area. To make things worse I continued to work for three more weeks before I went to the hospital. When I finally had the MRI I was told to get down to San Diego as soon as possible where there was a specialized surgeon who could do the job. I had no idea what a struggle the next year would be including prolonged bed rest, physical therapy, and no knowledge of when I would be able to return to work, if ever. Yet, after 15 months and three surgeries, I am blessed to finally be back to work at Fire Station 29 in San Ysidro.
Has it been a smooth road?
The recent injury that I’ve gone through has been extremely challenging. I was always an athlete and competed running ultra-marathons and enjoyed spearfishing along with many other outdoor activities. To hear that I may never run again was crushing for me, but I was inspired by the stories of other athletes and their roads to recovery. I had to re-evaluate my identity and in a way accept myself for who I was without being a firefighter and athlete. Maybe it was good for me!
Going through smokejumper rookie training as a female at an older age was a challenge for me as well, but I didn’t have the confidence to apply when I was younger. I wish I had because it might have been easier physically! I’ve got a lot under my belt at this point, including 13 years of fire experience; my education (which includes a BS in geography, a BFA in studio art, an MFA, and I’m currently working on my Masters in GIS). My experiences as a boat captain on dive boats, fishing boats, and my personal sailboat and years of being involved in a variety of competitive sports, including mountain bike racing, competitive surfing and swimming, and running ultra-marathons.
Whenever I face challenges, whether they are physical, mental, or emotional—and I think that ultimately they are all intertwined—I can look back at all the other challenges in my past and remind myself that I’ve probably faced something similar. The ultra-running has been particularly helpful because I know that I have the endurance to keep going even if I’m in a lot of pain. I have also found that this concept of endurance carries over to much lengthier life challenges, such as my San Diego Fire Academy training, which was 18 weeks long, and the eight-week-long smokejumper rookie training. Ultim
Tell us more about your work.
I always wanted to have a profession where I was a service to others. My parents were both educators and emphasized our ability to make a change. I wanted to have a life where I could combine my athleticism with my desire to help others and being a firefighter has been the best fit for me in that respect. My lifestyle has been unique, being that I am a female firefighter and boat captain, with an education in the art of all things. It’s allowed me to have flexibility in my life, such as my recent move to Mexico. I love being able to explore another country and still work in San Diego.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The field of firefighting, in general, is important because the management of wildland fires is becoming more complex with the growth of the wildland urban interface and impacts of climate change. We’ve recently seen fires like nothing in the past, with whole communities lost that we could not have predicted before. As a city fire department, we have many challenges concerning the urban interface, growing populations, growing homeless populations, constant changes in building construction and development, and even mass-shootings and unpredictable tragedies. Firefighting is a dynamic field faced with the challenge of anticipating the changes that are happening socially and culturally, as well as many geographic and technological changes. We then have to decipher the best way to respond to these changes to offer the best service possible to our communities.
Contact Info:
- Website: sandiego.gov
- Phone: 619-533-4300
- Email: sdfd@sandiego.gov
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