The Fire Chief’s Blog

Today the National Weather Service issued a message to all Emergency Managers outlining the strong potential for severe weather in and around the Twin Cities area.

For fire and police this can mean a long stretch of responding to calls generated by the storms. Typical calls for the fire department range from downed power lines to structure fires caused by lightening strikes.

Some of the most self reliant people in our city are the spouses and children of our firefighters. While our firefighters are out responding to calls during the storms, spouses and children are left at home to fend for themselves. In my case, I have not had the experience of going to the basement to seek shelter from a storm’s fury with my family since I joined the department back in 1986.

In July of 1987 the “Super Storm” event passed through Eden Prairie and I was at the fire department for the entire evening and well into the early morning. While I miss spending those memorable events with my family, I believe it has given them the knowledge that they are capable of riding out severe weather by taking precautions and staying calm.

Tonight looks like another night when our spouses and children will be spending a little time alone during the predicted stormy weather.

Earlier this week Assistant Chief Steve Koering and Lieutenant Ward Parker took a trip to Ocala Florida to check up on the details of three new fire engines for our department. These new trucks represent the latest in technology as it relates to fire engines.

The new trucks will not only serve us well for the next twenty years putting out fires, but also will be able to provide the tools necessary to extricate victims trapped in car accident situations. Additionally a significant improvement in scene lighting is on-board and provides an incredible amount of light, making the work areas safer during our frequent nighttime operations.

An energy management system that is on-board keeps all the systems working in concert and allocates power and resources to the features of the truck being most heavily used at any one time. The trucks also carry 1000 gallons of water and a foam injection process making rapid and meaningful fire attack possible with the first truck on the scene.

We are anticipating a delivery date of the second or third week of July, then they need to get striped and a vigorous training period for all apparatus operators will take place. If all goes according to plan we should be bringing the trucks into service on August 16th.

Like our last new truck, we are planning on a ribbon cutting ceremony and a blessing of the new trucks by one of our Police/Fire Chaplains. All will be welcomed to this event which will take place shortly before that evening’s City Council meeting.

Fighting fires is a challenging affair even in ideal conditions. When doing interior firefighting something called “Thermal Insult” is a big concern. In short it means taking more heat punishment to the body than it is built for. In heavy fire conditions this thermal insult can happen in short order and create firefighter safety issues. All firefighters wear protective gear to help shield the effects of extreme heat.

Another potential thermal insult can come from our summer weather. High heat and or humidity can tax firefighting crews to their breaking point too. While this effect is not as dramatic as taking too much heat in a fire, the result can be equally dangerous.

In Eden Prairie we take firefighter safety very seriously. As a result we always make sure we have a cool and shady place to refresh our firefighters and we bring plenty of water and sport drinks to our emergency scenes.

Of course summer will soon be gone for another year and we can get ready to battle the flames in the bitter cold of winter, another challenge for another season.

I am writing this Blog from the fire station in Hopkins, Minnesota a neighboring city to Eden Prairie and a regular mutual aid partner.

Tonight a 6 person crew from Eden Prairie and a 5 person crew from Plymouth, Minnesota are covering calls for Hopkins while their firefighters attend the wedding of two of their firefighters. We do this kind of thing on a fairly regular basis with our neighbors and they retina the favor when we have events that tie up our staff.

It is always interesting to visit another city and hang out in their fire station. While the mission of each department is fairly similar there are subtle differences that are interesting and educational. We will be here until 0200 hrs and then head home with another unique perspective gained.

The variety of experiences gained as a firefighter is endless, it’s what makes this career so darn rewarding!

Mark Krueger our Volunteer Coordinator recently sent me an email from one of our CERT members who helped out at Schooner Days a few weekends ago. The CERT mission was to spread the word about what CERT is and the fact that we are recruiting now for a class this fall. But when you’re out and about you never know what might happen.

From our CERT member Todd Gardner:

“We had an incident nearby (while staffing the booth at Schooner Days) where a visitor was choking on food and was in the developing stages of panic. A few of us quickly responded and one police officer from the nearby table gave her assistance. The food was dislodged and she regained her composure. Her parents were so relieved and appreciative. A good ending to a strange but probably common incident. Even though I didn’t administer help, I would have if the officer hadn’t been nearby. I am glad for our training and see now that you never know what can happen anytime, anyplace. I look forward to future training opportunities with a new enthusiasm.”

Todd is exactly right, you never know when the training received as a CERT member might come in handy. If you want to be part of the CERT program in Eden Prairie contact Mark Krueger at 952-949-6201 for more information on our upcoming CERT training.

Several city Fire Departments in the Southwestern Suburbs have formed a joint Operations group. The purpose of the group is to jointly develop and refine how we conduct fire suppression operations. Our goal is to act as one big fire department when we are helping each other out at emergency scenes.

Yesterday afternoon both Edina and Eden Prairie Fire Departments got a call for a car fire along highway 62. Due to driver confusion it was unclear exactly where the vehicle was, thus both departments we summoned.

One of Eden Prairie’s Lieutenants arrived on the scene first and took command, an Edina fire truck arrived next and proceeded to put the fire out. The scene went smoothly in part because we train together and have very similar protocols within our operational guidelines. Additionally our officers have joint training together and all know each other, another benefit when you are working together.

First Arriving Edina Fire Unit. The firefighter in the foreground is Lieutenant Ward Parker from Eden Prairie

Edina with the quick knockdown. Like Eden Prairie they are very good at what they do!

By coincidence this full-time Edina firefighter is also a volunteer for Eden Prairie Fire. Ryan Quinn is his name and he is an excellent person as well as an excellent firefighter for both cities.

Today is a groundbreaking date in Public Safety blogging. A joint Police and Fire blog. To prove the point you can click on the respective Chief and see the exact same blog on Police Chief Dan Carlson’s and Fire Chief George Esbensen’s blog

So what prompted the use of a joint blog? What is so darn important? Well, since “collaboration” is the term of the week for teamwork, cooperation, joint efforts and so on, we thought a collaborative blog on a collaborative project was in order.

Months ago a branding initiative was undertaken for the City of Eden Prairie. As Chiefs we both thought this was a golden opportunity to symbolize the unity between our two departments as well as our connection to the City’s brand as a whole. The goal was to design patches that would clearly show the common bond that exists on a daily basis between our Firefighters and Police personnel.

This is the previous look of the three logos: Police, City General, Fire

The new look: Police, City General, Fire

Change is always difficult to embrace, but the continuity between the three logos clearly reflects a strategy and an overall identity between the images. The unity portrayed with the Fire and Police patches is symbolic of the true bond that exists between the two departments and the committment to keep those bonds in place into the future.

Last week I headed up to Red Lake with three other members of the fire department: Fire Inspectors Chuck Schaitberger, Tony Liddell and Scott Taylor.

We were invited to participate in their Annual Safety Camp. This is a one day event that runs from 10:00 am until lunch is served at noon. Like the Safety Camp in Eden Prairie the camp is open to third graders and teaches them many safety precautions including fire safety, electrical safety, storm safety, stranger danger and drug mis-use.

For our part, Eden Prairie brought along our 40 foot safety awareness trailer (click on the link/image for some video of it in action) that has features to teach kids about fire safety around the home as well as severe weather awareness.

Also joining us in Red Lake were retired firefighters Curt Oberlander and Jim Matson. Both of these fine individuals also served for many years as some of Eden Prairie’s original Police Officers. They are two fantastic people and have both been to Red Lake many times over the past 15 years. Both have close relationships with the leaders of the Red Lake Fire Department.

After the Safety Camp was over we were treated to a fishing trip, with permission from the Tribal Council, to the Red River. We spent the late afternoon and evening fishing is this rich fishery. We caught 4 nice Walleye’s and several large Northern Pike. It was a great finish to another full day.

We planned to leave after breakfast on Friday, but were awakened at 3:00 am with a fire call for a house fire on the western edge of the reservation. Western edge was not overstated as we drove almost 45 miles to the site of an abandoned 2 story farm house that was already entirely consumed by the fire. When you have to drive over 30 minutes to a house fire there isn’t much that can be done to save the structure. Luckily there had been a lot of rain the previous week and the fire didn’t spread to the adjacent wooded area. Already up from the fire call we packed up and left at 5:00am for the ride home.

It was an interesting trip and as always we had a great experience there. We have made the pledge to continue to provide assistance to Red Lake Fire for the long-term and look forward to many more experiences with the people there.

In closing I was gld to see many more smiles and the sign of recovery since our last visit in the wake of the tragedy there. The people of Red Lake are strong and getting back to a more normal pace of life.

Retired Firefighter Jim Matson keeping things clean and orderly

Never to be out done, Curt Oberlander sweeps up.

Safety Camp Grand Finale, a drawing for girls and boys bikes! The look on the kid’s faces was priceless!

Our Safety Awareness Trailer. This Trailer was donated to the Fire Department by the Eden Prairie Foundation, the Eden Prairie Lions Club and the Eden Prairie Moms Club. It is an important part of our Safety Camp in Eden Prairie and was a big hit in Red Lake too.

The Northern Pike I caught being held up for display by Fire Inspector Scott Taylor. A good guess would be 12 lbs. Amazingly enough it had large teeth marks on it’s side. A lot of 25 pounders get caught in this river. We threw this little one back!

Showing off my fish cleaning skills on one of our 4 Walleyes. They were tasty too!

This is what a house fire looks like when you have to drive almost 45 miles to get to the scene.