KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Chief Donna Lake announced Tuesday she is retiring after more than 30 years of service. Lake was the first female to ever serve as fire chief in Kansas City.
According to a release Tuesday, Lake is set to retire on Jan. 27, 2023. An interim chief will be announced at a later date.
Lake, who was sworn in as chief in November 2019, was the first female to ever serve as fire chief in Kansas City.
“There are just no words to describe how proud I am of how much we’ve grown as a premier emergency medical and fire suppression service in this time. Each one of you has played a significant part in that. You made it easy for me to be Fire Chief," Lake said in a statement.
Lake has served in the Kansas City Fire Department for a little over 30 years. Lake joined the department in 1992 as a firefighter before working her way up to fire chief.
During her last assignment before becoming fire chief, she was the head of the Technical Services Bureau, which includes fleet, facilities, IT, logistics and other core internal functions.
Lake's family has had a long history in the KCFD, as her father was also a firefighter.
“Fire Chief Donna Lake has shown incredible leadership and passion for public safety over the past 30 years, working to create a stronger Kansas City Fire Department. As the first woman to lead the Department, Chief Lake is a trailblazer and inspiration for women, showing them, they too can aspire to lead in public safety,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement on her retirement.
An interim chief will be selected before the city begins its search for the next permanent fire chief.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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