Changing of the guard at Tahoe Fire District

Tahoe-Douglas firefighters participated in a change of command ceremony on Wednesday bidding farewell to Chief Scott Baker and welcoming new Chief Scott Lindgren.

Baker has served with the Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District since February 2016 when he was hired as an assistant chief. By July of that year, Baker was named the district’s chief.

Baker was the subject of a proclamation declaring Jan. 12 in his honor issued by the Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

He has served as a firefighter for more than a third of a century, mostly with the Reno Fire Department.

Baker was key in recovering federal funding for fire prevention in the Tahoe basin and added a second wildland crew to the Tahoe-Douglas fire district.

Baker also served as a lieutenant colonel in the Nevada Air Guard for 27 years, including as commander of the 192nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron in Iraq.

“We are so very thankful for the leadership the Chief Baker has given the department and with so many accomplishments over the past five years,” Tahoe Douglas Fire Marshal Eric Guevin said Wednesday. “He leaves us in a great place and we look forward to Chief Lindgren directing us on into the future. We wish Chief Baker and his family the best in retirement, he will certainly be missed at TDFPD and throughout the Tahoe Basin.”

Lindgren comes to the district with nearly 30 years of firefighting experience with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Lindgren's daughter pinned her father in the small ceremony conducted under coronavirus safety limitations.

Guevin said otherwise the ceremony would have packed the house.

“The passing of the department flag symbolized the leadership change,” Guevin said.

The Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District is an independent district with its own tax authority and elected board.

It covers the Lake Tahoe Basin portion of Douglas County.