Fairdale appoints first female fire chief in Jefferson County

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Fairdale Fire Department is getting a new chief.

Carrie Blevins has been appointed as the first female chief of the department and the first within Jefferson County. While she's already been serving in the interim role for several months, she'll take over the position permanently on Jan. 1, 2025.

Blevins said she became interested in firefighting as a 22-year-old while she was working at a Valvoline. She said a firefighter came in and talked about the job and she decided that's what she wanted to do. She started as a volunteer in 2004 before going full time in 2005. Since then, she has risen through the ranks and was most recently appointed deputy chief.

"I just hope that everybody out there that dreams of doing something just sees me living my dream and knowing their dream is possible," Blevins said. "It shouldn't matter what age, sex, race, religion that you are. Go for it. If you know what you want to be, set your goals and work toward them and you can achieve them."

Blevins said she has a passion for serving the community and sharing knowledge with new firefighters. She started the Junior Firefighter program at Fairdale in 2009, working with 15- to 18-year-olds who may decide to pursue this career path.

"That's my biggest thing is my passion for tomorrow, teaching and leaving us better than I found it," she said.

Becoming chief is a career step Blevins said she's proud of and worked very hard to achieve.

"I don't want to take away from that the fact that I'm just following my path," she said, when asked about becoming the first female fire chief in the county. "The guys that came before me were great mentors. I'm not going to do anything different just because I'm a female. I had to work through the ranks. I got the college degrees. I got the certificates. I pushed myself, worked the overtime, took time away from family to make it happen. And I hope that gets instilled in future generations and they continue to push forward also."

Blevins will replace current Chief Josh Underwood, who is retiring after 25 years with the department. She has a five-year goal for the department, and the top of that list is firefighter health and wellness. Other things include making sure equipment is up to date, implementing a peer support group and getting an ambulance.

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