Portland’s new fire chief says she’s here ‘for the long haul,’ embraces bureau’s challenges

I loved that the job was different every day.”She switched her career focus, and now, nearly three decades later, Johnson is Portland Fire & Rescue’s new chief. Over her years in the department, she rose to assistant fire chief and became known for her collaborative leadership style. “There’s a lot of similarities between Dallas firefighters and Portland firefighters,” she said. The city’s first pick for the job, a former California fire chief, accepted the offer and then walked away. When the Portland job came up, she knew she was ready, she said.