City of Smyrna Picks Woman Finalist for Fire Chief

The sole finalist for the position of fire chief for the City of Smyrna is remarkable in a number of ways.

The finalist, who will begin work on Jan. 6, 2014 pending City Council approval, is pursuing a doctorate of education in organizational leadership. The finalist rose through the ranks over a 15 year career in the fire service, making it from a rookie EMT in 1998 to captain in 2005 and assistant chief in 2011. The finalist is a published author; the book "Fading Scars" was published in 2010 and deals with traumatic brain injury.

The finalist is also a woman.

Paige Day, most recently the assistant fire chief in Missouri City, TX, was named the sole finalist from the pool of 50 applicants seeking to replace former chief Jason Lanyon, who resigned during an internal investigation probing alleged violations of city policy.

Day was named the sole finalist for the position in an announcement made by the city on Wednesday. City spokesperson Jennifer Bennett told Patch that although Day would be the first female fire chief in Smyrna's history, her gender was not a factor in her selection.

According to an article written about Day by Grand Canyon University in Arizona, Day is working on a dissertation called "The Lived Experience of Women as Career Firefighters in Mentorship" and plans to graduate with her doctorate in October. It is not known if her new position will change her education plans.

Before her appointment as Missouri City's assistant fire chief, Day had spent time as a hazard mitigation specialist with the federal government and had served as the battalion chief with the Raytheon Company's fire department in Tucson, AZ.

Day is 46 and the mother of three children, two of whom are grown and serving in the United States Army.