On April 7, the city of Salinas announced the retirement of Fire Chief Michele Vaughn.
Vaughn has worked for the Salinas Fire Department for 22 years. She started as a firefighter and moved through the ranks—to engineer, captain, battalion chief—until she became the fire chief in September of 2020 after serving as the interim chief. Vaughn is the first woman to lead SFD.
"This is a bittersweet moment," she said in a press release. "As I started in the fire service, I never envisioned myself as Fire Chief for this great city. I will take many lifelong memories and friendships with me as I transition into this next chapter of my life”
Vaughn served as a board member and treasurer for the California Chiefs Training Session and is a member of Women of the Fire Service. She was also part of the K-9 handler for Urban Search & Rescue with the FEMA California Task Force 4.
Vaughn was the SFD fire chief for less than two years. She took over the position after Chief Pablo Barreto retired after leading the organization for over a year. The fire chief before Barreto, Jeff Johnson, resigned in Feb. 2019 after only eight months on the job to join Newport News, Virginia, fire department.
Vaughn's retirement date is May 8, 2022.
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