Longtime Ben Lomond Fire Protection District volunteer firefighter Stacie Brownley is the district’s new chief.
Brownley, a career volunteer in Ben Lomond, is a second-generation Ben Lomond chief and the first female chief in the county. She was selected by the district’s board of directors on Nov. 17.
Brownley acted as interim chief after John Charcho retired in April after 5½ years at the post.
“The biggest thing was that her goals and objectives seemed to really mesh with the goals and objectives of the board,” board president Mike Ayers said.
He noted that the directors wanted someone with chief experience who was already a member of the district and who had taken classes at the state level. Brownley fit all the criteria and beat out two other serious candidates, Ayers said.
Brownley, a 1984 San Lorenzo Valley High graduate and mother of two, has known firefighting since she joined the department on her 18th birthday.
“I just joined, not expecting to be a (career) firefighter,” Brownley said.
The profession stuck, however, and in April she will have been with the department 20 years.
“It’s in my blood — I love it,” said Brownley, who is married to Tim Brownley and has two children, Whitney, 24, and Brodye, 8.
Her father, Mike Smith, served as chief from 1974 to 1984 before he died in his mid-40s.
But times have changed, Brownley said, since her father was chief. There are many young firefighters who are training for paid career positions, rather than men and women who work in town. Today’s crews are trained to the hilt, and before any firefighter can board an engine for a call, he or she must be fully certified for almost any situation.
Still, managing the 35-volunteer department takes knowledge of the area and its people, she said.
“I feel that it’s really important to keep a small, close-knit community,” Brownley said. “My main goal is to keep up with the times and the safety equipment and make sure we supply (our firefighters) with the best we have to offer.”
She said she is proud to be a part of the department, which fields more than 350 calls per year and she sees as the central hub of the small town.
“We don’t have a mayor — we are the go-to person (in Ben Lomond),” Brownley said. “People call us for everything.”
