Chief Baker brings 30 years of experience in the fire service, law enforcement, and public safety to his role as Fire Chief of the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District. He became Chief in May 2025, bringing a background shaped by military service, frontline emergency response, teaching, and fire department leadership and a heart for helping people that has guided him throughout his career.

A United States Coast Guard veteran, Chief Baker spent most of his career in California, serving with CAL FIRE, local government fire departments, and fire districts. He has responded to some of the largest wildfires in California history and brings experience in structural and wildland firefighting, incident command, law enforcement, and investigations. He currently serves on an Oregon State Fire Marshal Incident Management Team, helping communities during major wildfires and other emergencies.

Chief Baker’s technical rescue experience includes rope rescue, trench rescue, confined space rescue, swiftwater rescue, and dive rescue. He has helped develop regional technical rescue teams, establish fire department ambulance transport programs, and introduce non-transport advanced life support services. His work has focused on recognizing gaps in emergency response and bringing together the people, training, equipment, and partnerships needed to address them.

His experience also extends to preparing communities before disaster strikes. He has worked on fuels mitigation projects and community wildfire protection plans and helped develop county emergency plans. These efforts connect his operational experience with practical planning to reduce risk and strengthen coordinated response.

As an instructor at community colleges and fire academies, Chief Baker has helped firefighters develop the skills and judgment their work demands. At Umatilla, he continues that commitment by supporting career firefighters, volunteers, and resident interns as they build their abilities and prepare for greater responsibility.

Chief Baker has a record of leading smaller combination departments, where limited staffing and funding require resourcefulness, clear priorities, and responsible decisions. His experience includes grant writing, budget development, strategic planning, policy development, and personnel and apparatus management. He emphasizes transparency in district business and clear communication about financial challenges, service needs, and the reasons behind decisions. He is willing to make difficult decisions, even when they are unpopular, when necessary to protect personnel, maintain essential services, and support the district’s long-term stability.

For Chief Baker, leading Umatilla Fire is personal. At the heart of his work is a desire to help people, whether responding to a family’s emergency, supporting a firefighter through a difficult time, or helping someone find their place in the fire service. He understands that behind every call is a person who needs help, and behind every firefighter is a family counting on them to come home. He takes both responsibilities to heart. He is proud to stand alongside the people of Umatilla Fire, serve his neighbors, and call this community home.