Sara Mullins came to the fire service through the side door. After spending 10 years in mechanical engineering for both the US Navy and NASA, she finally found her place as a volunteer at a rural fire department in Colorado. Working her way from the bottom up as a firefighter/EMT, she realized her skills from engineering translated well to fire service administration. Familiar with how to navigate government programs, she was able to bring in nearly $500,000 to a department serving only 5,500 people through AFG, SAFER, CDPHE and more.