Tulsa Fire Chief Focuses On Collaboration In New Role

The first day on the job is in the books for Tulsa's new fire chief. On June 1st Michael Baker celebrated his 25th anniversary with the Tulsa Fire Department. On June 15th, he was sworn in as fire chief. 

"A front-line firefighter sees the cracks in the healthcare systems and society," said Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker.

Chief Baker is a firefighter and paramedic. He says he has tried to do something about the problems he saw on the job, by helping to create programs. He helped transform the EMS system.

"Taking it from where we struggled to get band-aids to firetrucks to make sure they had what they needed and now we can develop innovative programs," said Chief Baker. 

He worked on a program called CARES which helps to connect people who are calling 911 more than 15 times a year, with resources and people who can help them. 

He also helped create the Community Response Team- a firefighter, police officer and COPES therapist who respond to crisis calls together to deescalate situations and make sure people get the resources they need. 

Those programs were all made possible because of collaboration- something Chief Baker says he is hoping to focus on as he takes this new role.