Sara Blair, the Baker City Fire Department’s first woman to be hired as a career employee, reached another milestone this week.

Blair, 40, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, making her the fire department’s first woman to serve as an officer.

The firefighter/paramedic joined the Baker City Fire Department 12 year ago this May.

Blair grew up in Baker City and is a 1994 Baker High School graduate. She joined the Baker Rural Fire Protection District as a volunteer when she was 19.

Blair than set off on a different line of study, earning associate degrees in forestry and rangeland management at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario.

While serving as a volunteer, however, she says she changed direction and headed to Chemeketa Community College at Salem where she earned her paramedic degree.

She worked as an EMT and medic for the Dallas Fire Department during that time to help pay for her education.

“I’m excited to do this,” Sara said of her promotion. “It’s a big step.”

Fire Chief Mark John said Blair was selected from among four internal candidates who applied for the job. The position had stood vacant for the past eight years, said John, who was hired as Baker City fire chief about a year and a half ago.

One firefighter position was restored about the same time John joined the department, with a third lieutenant spot remaining vacant.

John said he began discussions of restoring the vacancy, pointing out the benefits of having a second supervisor on a shift, including savings on overtime. Blair will step in as the shift officer when her assistant chief Dan Curtis is out sick or on vacation.

Once the third lieutenant position was approved, John said a process was developed to choose the top candidate.

Applicants took a written exam in early April and they were put through several other exercises, including a conflict resolution scenario and an interview with the fire chief and Luke Yeaton, of the city’s Human Resources department.

Officers from La Grande, Pendleton and the Baker Rural Fire District helped evaluate the applicants, helping provide an objective and impartial review, John said.

Blair was hired at the conclusion of that process. She will earn $4,919 per month, in her placement on step three of a four-step pay scale for lieutenants, Yeaton said. That’s up from the $4,731 she earned at the top step as a firefighter/paramedic.

With Blair as a third lieutenant, each of the three shifts are staffed by an assistant chief, a lieutenant and two firefighters, John said.

The other two lieutenants are Donald Taggart and David Blair, Sara’s husband.

In addition to her duties as an officer, Sara will continue her roles as firefighter/paramedic and the department’s fire inspector.

See more in the April 27, 2016, issue of the Baker City Herald.