Meet Tulsa’s New Fire Chief
Michael Baker, former Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the Tulsa Fire Department (TFD), was chosen Monday to serve as Tulsa’s 12th Fire Chief. He will take his post effective Tuesday, June 16.
“Out of several exceptional public servants who put forth their names to serve as Tulsa’s next Fire Chief, I have decided Michael Baker is the best person to lead the Tulsa Fire Department moving forward,” Mayor Bynum said. “Michael has served the department for many years and has done an outstanding job turning our EMS system into one of the best in the nation…chief Baker will represent the Tulsa Fire Department at the highest level and will continue to lay the groundwork for one of the best fire departments in the nation.”
Chief Baker has served more than 30 years in public safety, 25 of those with the Tulsa Fire Department. He’s played a key role in the development of TFD’S Community Assistance, Referral, and Education Services (CARES) program, which helps triage those who have specific care needs to programs and resources that can help change their lives for the better.
“It is my honor to be selected as the twelfth Fire Chief for the City of Tulsa,” Baker said. “I am excited to be a part of a great leadership team and work with a world class group of firefighters. Great plans are on the horizon that not only address the life and fire safety of all Tulsa residents, but also work to improve the quality of life in our community. Through an informed, collaborative, and equitable team of firefighters, Tulsa will continue emerging as an energetic and resilient community.”
The Tulsa Fire Department has more than 700 firefighters, all of whom helped TFD earn a Class 1 Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating in 2019 – the highest rating a department can get in the country.
Throughout his career, Baker has become an innovative fire service operations officer, emergency manager and administrator. In his capacity as the Director of Emergency Medical Services, which he has held since 2009, he has helped improve Fire and EMS response reporting times, while saving TFD money through improved processes and systems.
Baker, who first served Tulsa as a firefighter at Fire Station 4, has more than 10 years’ experience with the International Association of Firefighters as a field instructor, helping provide him a better perspective of the skills required to maintain a positive interaction between labor and management with an emphasis on maintaining a quality working relationship.
The new chief took his post June 16, at which time Interim Chief Scott Clark returned to his regular job duties.