Sedona Fire District’s first female chief officer, Dori Booth, has served as SFD’s fire marshal for over a month now. And so far, she said she made the right decision to move to the Verde Valley.
“I feel like I have a big role model position for women in the fire service, as well just the Sedona Fire District, in bridging the gap and bringing more diversity to the department,” Booth said.
Officially titled Community Risk Reduction Division Chief, Booth helps with fire prevention, fire investigation and public education. Her main responsibility comes from researching the district’s fire code, enforcing these codes and looking for more preventative codes.
“Growing up I was always around the fire service and that is really what triggered my interest in it,” Booth said. “Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a firefighter or somehow involved in the fire service.”
Booth’s father, Richard Booth, retired from the fire service as a battalion chief from the Peoria Fire Department in Illinois.
After growing up in Illinois, Booth continued onto Eastern Kentucky University to study fire protection engineering and arson investigation. After graduating, Booth landed an internship at Phoenix Fire Department and eventually worked her way up to deputy fire marshal. While working in Phoenix, she earned her master’s degree in public safety leadership and administration at Arizona State University.
New Sedona Fire District Fire Marshal Dori Booth inspects the remnants of a house fire on Tuesday, Dec. 21.
David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers
Booth’s experience as a firefighter and fire marshal prepared her for this role in Sedona. She officially joined the team on Nov. 15. Her predecessor, Jon Davis, also moved to the city to join SFD. Davis served for almost four years as the fire marshal. His retirement came at just the right time as Booth was looking for more of a career transition.
“I had been looking for career advancement … and once you get to a certain level in community risk reduction and fire prevention levels, it’s really hard to promote because there are so few of those [positions],” Booth said.
Transitioning from a larger city to Sedona’s smaller district, Booth has seen the different challenges that the city faces as SFD deals with two counties, along with the district itself. In the past month, she said that she has been learning who the key players are, the differences in codes, as well as all the other responsibilities that she has gained moving from deputy marshal to fire marshal.
Most drastically, Booth’s advancement in her career has pushed her up the ladder to report directly to SFD Fire Chief Jon Trautwein.
Booth also said that she has received nothing but praise from the fire chief. This has helped her in this transition, not only as a chief officer but also as a female in the fire district. Currently there is only one female firefighter serving at SFD, Cascade Parcell.
Booth made the move with her two dogs, Maddie and Tillie, and her horse. Currently they all reside in Camp Verde, at the Ranch Verde RV Park, in her fifth-wheel camper. Once Booth sells her house in the Phoenix area, she will look for place in the Verde Valley.
“I look forward to serving the community… and using every tool we can to help prevent fires,” Booth said.
