She's in charge of five fire stations in the north end of Miami and also oversees the Miami Fire-Rescue's dive team and technical rescue team. But Melissa Llera is even more than that at Miami Fire-Rescue, she's the department's first female chief fire officer.
"I spent time as a firefighter and as a lieutenant and as a captain before getting to the rank of chief," Chief Fire Officer Llera said. It's the highest rank ever held by any female in the history of the department.
"I always knew that it was possible one day, I just didn't think I would be the first one," Chief Fire Officer Llera said. A department where, similar to the profession, women are largely under represented.
Currently, the agency has 749 firefighters and only 38 of them are women. That's less than six percent. Those are numbers the fire chief is working to get up. "I've been on staff from one position or another since 1994, always seen this as a challenge and been chief since 2009. So now in a better position to do things about it," said Chief Maurice Kemp.
Chief Kemp said one thing he's done is make it a priority for the department to recruit more women.