Remembering FPE Alumnus and Board Member Thomas C. Brown

The Department of Fire Protection Engineering is sad to report the passing of alumnus Thomas C. Brown (B.S. ’85) on April 19, 2014. Brown was a member of the department’s Board of Visitors and was also inducted as an honorary member of its chapter of Salamander, the National Fire Protection Engineering Honor Society, in 2012.

Brown spent most of his career at Rolf Jensen & Associates, Inc. (RJA). He joined the company as an Associate Consulting Engineer in 1987, ultimately becoming its President and head of its Fire Protection Engineering Practice. In a press release on the RJA web site, the company describes its colleague and friend as “the epitome of practicing the principle of ‘doing the right thing’” and as a mentor to its engineering staff.

Brown was also a member of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad from 1978 until his death, rising from cadet to its President. In a statement on the company’s web site, Squad Chief Mark Dempsey describes Brown as “the heart and soul of the Rescue Squad” whose leadership helped shape it into a premier fire rescue department. Brown received numerous commendations for his service to the community and valor in the line of duty, and was instrumental in the planning of the squad’s new building, dedicated in 2013.

Prior to joining RJA, Brown served as a D.C. firefighter and hazmat technician, a fire science instructor at the University of the District of Columbia, and a fire protection engineer for Fairfax County in Virginia.

Published May 1, 2014