Female firefighters make history with their promotions

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — In a city that grows as quickly as Warner Robins, you’re bound to go through lots of “firsts.”

In the 40s, as the city moved on from the name of “Wellston,” it went through its first local election, its first mayor and council and, as any city will have as it grows, its first problems.

The city hasn’t stopped having firsts — in fact, Warner Robins elected the first-ever Black woman to the position of mayor last December. The city’s firsts have only changed as it has. On Monday, the city knocked another one off the list.

During their Dec. 5 meeting, Warner Robins Mayor and Council approved two promotions within the city’s Fire Department: beginning with Aundrea Day, an engineer within the department, rising to the position of lieutenant; and Kadie Peterman, a firefighter, moved up to the position of engineer.

Day is the first woman to ever rise to the rank of lieutenant for the Warner Robins Fire Department. Peterman, taking her former rank, is the second woman to ever rise to engineer.

In a moment, both Day and Peterman made Warner Robins history — The Journal spoke with each of them on the work it took to get to this point.

Aundrea Day, 40, is no stranger to making history. Earlier in her eight-year career within Warner Robins Fire, she became the first-ever women to rise to the rank of engineer.

As an engineer, Day would maintain a fire truck and its equipment, and ensure that other firefighters got to and from emergency calls. At a fire scene, it was her responsibility to pump water to where it needed to be; at any other given scene, it was Day’s responsibility to make certain that responders had the necessary equipment to complete the job.

With her new rank, she will act as a crew leader, responsible for personnel working at her station, as well as the station itself.

Aside from the training hours Day has had to gain to get to this position — eight years worth — she’s also branched out to a number of niches where she could be more active, becoming part of Warner Robins’ Dive Team, working with the public as a Car Seat Tech and further serving her department as a member of their Honor Guard.

Day told The Journal that it hasn’t been an easy journey, but that she’s had support along the way.

“I’ve had my stumbling blocks along the way,” Day said. “It’s very much a learning experience, but the more you stumble, the more you find out it’s easy to pick yourself up and keep going. You become stronger because of it. I’ve learned a lot.

“I also realize how willing the department is to make all of us as a whole. I didn’t get here by myself — everyone in front of me helped me, taught me, picked me up, encouraged me to keep moving forward and try to reach the rank that I am, and even further.”

As the first woman to rise to this rank, Day said rising to the rank she has had its challenges, but she’s persisted, and has had support along the way.

“It’s always challenging for any organization, or any person, when you don’t have any example to go off of,” Day said. “It’s not that it was difficult, it was just different.

“It is challenging. All I could do was try to dispel any hesitations that people had and move forward.”

Taking her new position in stride, Day said she’s elated with the new challenge, and hopes to set a good example for all those who come after her, children who may follow in her footsteps and her kids.

Day said she hopes to progress as far as she can within the department, and is continuing her education so she can meet any future challenges.

Kadie Peterman, 23, is one of those who followed in Day’s footsteps, taking on her former position as engineer. It’s only taken her nearly four years to get to this point.

With her new position, Peterman will start her workday by making sure her truck is fully equipped for the day’s needs, that all necessary tools are in their place, and that the truck is fully functional and maintained. After that, she’ll drive the crew to each call she’s on, and pump water when necessary.

For the past four years, Kadie has worked through several trainings and taken on a number of rolls. She’s completed EMT Training, can do work as a Rescue Tech and has gained the necessary licenses required to drive a fire truck.

The work to getting this promotion, however, started for Peterman in November of 2021, when she began her Engineer training.

“It’s definitely a stressful process,” Peterman said. “There’s a lot of moving parts that go into it that you have to be good at, not just adequate, but proficient in to actually move on to the next step.

“It’s definitely stressful, but getting through it was a relief.”

Nonetheless, despite the difficulties getting to this point, Peterman said she’s had support from her the people she works with every day.

“My crew from last year and my crew from this year — two very different crews, but they’re two very, very supportive crews,” Peterman said. “Not just them, but the entire department, if I had any questions for literally anyone, there would be abundant answers. They’re all very helpful, supportive.”

As she continues her work with Warner Robins Fire, Peterman hopes to continue growing, and eventually make it to the rank of lieutenant.

Chief Ross Moulton spoke on the department’s growth, and its newfound diversity in higher ranks.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to promote females,” Moulton said. “In the past, we haven’t had that many females in the fire service. We are certainly proud of their accomplishments, because it’s very difficult to be promoted as it is. They’ve done really good, really hard work to get where they’re at. Both of them are very respected and valuable parts of Warner Robins Fire Department.”

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