A Message from Fire Chief Chris Baker

Welcome to Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District.

Our community is growing, and the demands on your fire district are growing with it. Increasing call volume, expanding development, aging equipment, and limited financial resources present real challenges. Meeting those challenges requires more than acknowledging them. It requires decisive leadership, careful planning, and the determination to move forward.

We are meeting those challenges head-on.

We are strengthening training, improving equipment, pursuing grants, and building opportunities to recruit and retain dedicated firefighters. We are evaluating how we staff, respond, and invest so that every available dollar supports dependable emergency service. Our progress is deliberate, and our priorities are clear: protect our community, support our firefighters, and build a district that can meet the demands of the future.

For a small district, every decision matters. We must balance immediate operational needs with long-term investments in apparatus, facilities, and personnel. We must also be honest about the gap between what our community needs and what our current resources can sustain. You deserve to understand those challenges, the decisions we make, and the work underway to address them.

Our approach is aggressive in pursuing solutions and disciplined in carrying them out. We hold ourselves accountable, seek partnerships that strengthen our capabilities, and continually look for ways to improve. We will pursue every practical opportunity to move this district forward while remaining responsible stewards of the resources you entrust to us.

At the heart of that work are our career firefighters, volunteers, and resident interns. Their commitment makes progress possible. They train, prepare, and respond knowing that when someone calls for help, that person is trusting us during one of the most difficult moments of their life. Earning that trust is a responsibility we carry every day.

I am proud to serve alongside this team and honored to serve as your Fire Chief. We have important work ahead, and we are approaching it with urgency, purpose, and a clear commitment to the people of this district.

Thank you for your trust, your support, and your interest in the future of Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District.

Chris Baker
Fire Chief
Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District