Brittney Baker: From Rondo baby to fire captain

When Brittney Baker was recognized by St. Paul City Council last month for her promotion to St. Paul Fire Department captain, Fire Chief Butch Inks shared words of advice with the council: 

“If you ever plan a meeting with Brittney Baker and it’s in public, I encourage you to make it longer than the allotted time,” Inks said. 

Why? Because people always want to talk to Baker “because she is so well connected in the community and so devoted to giving back,” the fire chief explained. 

The historic all-woman St. Paul City Council declared March 27 “Brittney Baker Day,” recognizing Baker’s achievement and the significance of her promotion to captain. 

She is the first African American woman to be promoted to captain. But Baker and her supporters emphasized that her work goes beyond her identity. The ordinance recognized her passion for “not just opening the door, but making sure the door never closes again” through teaching and community work. 

“I’m not a person who thinks about diversity in terms of just white and Black. I think diversity is a mindset,” Baker said a month into her new job. “It’s about getting people to think differently about themselves, about the way that we take care of each other as a society.”

For Baker, this means going into the community to teach and serve. 

There’s a reason so many people know her. Baker is a lifetime resident of St. Paul and a “Rondo baby.” She graduated from Central High School and her family still resides in historic Rondo. 

She teaches free CPR classes. She also teaches the St. Paul Fire Department EMS Academy with two former EMS academy graduates. She helps teach first responder, EMT and paramedic classes at Century College, and she is an instructor for the Department of Transportation. She is also a proud Girl Scout troop leader.

At the council meeting recognizing her achievements and community commitment, Baker read a poem she wrote titled “Is it Worth the Cost?,” which can be heard in the recording of the March 27 council meeting at timestamp 27:45. 

In her poem, Baker spoke about her commitment to those who come before and after her: “I want those before me to receive their flowers and credit, and those after me to be able to take out a proper loan without ever feeling less than. We pay it forward so we never have to walk in debt to those who don’t love us or want to see us succeed. In the space I felt the most free in this fire service, I am reminded of something: That when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality can feel like oppression. Yeah, just go ahead and let it sink in.” 

Her career and facing persistent racism 

First attending the St. Paul Fire EMS Academy, Baker began her career in 2012. But just about three weeks into her first EMT class, her father was shot and she saw how paramedics took care of him; one of whom was a woman. This interaction between her father and first responders stuck with Baker. 

Baker started her career as a first responder for Regions Emergency Medical Services and the basic life support unit for the St. Paul Fire Department. She wore many hats, working as an EMT, a certified nursing assistant and a first responder.

There she learned while people claim not to care what the person who takes care of them looks like, that isn’t true for all people. 

“Some people do care. And I know because I’ve had patients call me the N word,” she said. “I’ve had patients tell me they didn’t want me touching them, that they would rather put me back in a field than allow me to take care of them. I’ve had people when I was working in the hospital refuse an EKG to be done and we were short beds that night and I was the only tech on.” 

The patient waited until a white tech came on hours later, Baker said. 

From these experiences, Baker said it’s important to her to not only reach people who think positively of her, but people who think negatively about her and her abilities too. 

Her message is simple: “I’m qualified to do the job and not because I’m an African American female, but because I have the qualifications, because I have the education, because I’ve done the work. Some people, no matter how many times you say that, will still discredit you.”

Baker became a firefighter in 2018, a fire equipment operator in 2023 and, now in 2024, a captain.

Identity comes in many parts 

Baker clarified that she prefers to be identified as African American rather than Black. Baker said she doesn’t want people to forget the second part of the identity African American. “I am an American with African roots. I’m not just a Black girl. I am proud of both, but I don’t want anyone to forget that. Because sometimes people forget the second part (American).”

During a studying abroad trip in Australia, Baker said one of the many things that resonated with her while overseas was that “I wasn’t the Black girl or the African American girl there. I was the American girl. That was the first time in my life I had simply been called American. So when we go to other places and the rest of the world views us, they view us as distinctly American. We are the ones to separate ourselves.”

Baker said she is a firefighter, a captain, an EMS educator, a mother, a wife and a teacher, noting that she happens to be American and Black. “I’m very proud of that. But don’t forget all the other pieces first.”

St. Paul is a diverse community filled with many people who hold many parts, Baker said. It’s one of many things she loves about her city. This showed when she received her recognition at council. She was honored the same day the council passed an ordinance that officially recognized Ramadan. 

Baker said she was honored to be present for the Ramadan recognition. Her grandfather is Muslim. She has friends who are Muslim. To her, sharing that day with the Muslim community was special and meaningful. 

“St Paul is a melting pot. When people disregard cultures – here, we can’t do that. We have a multitude of people, a multitude of cultures who are represented here and who make us quite beautiful,” Baker said. 

Rondo babies recognize Rondo babies 

The recognition of Baker was sponsored by all seven St. Paul City Council members last month, many of whom have ties to Baker and her Rondo roots. 

Ward 3 Council Member Saura Jost, like Baker, is a Central High alumni. 

“I’m so proud of all of the work you’ve done, your lifelong dedication and commitment to our city. I know that that work will be felt for decades to come. And I’m also just really excited to see what you’ll do next,” said Jost. 

Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie congratulated Baker during the March meeting.

“I have seen you present, rooted in community, all throughout,”  Bowie said. “I remember my time being an educator, being a youth worker and you were there building up the village. You were there building up the pipeline of opportunities. You have always been there. You have been an inspiration not only to myself as a council member, but also as a Rondo baby who’s proud to be Rondo raised. I’m just so honored to share a village with you.”