The Fire Chief’s Blog

One of our newer firefighters, TJ McDaniel, is leaving us to pursue his childhood dream of a career as a full-time firefighter. TJ was selected as one of 16, out of an initial candidate pool of over 1000 people who applied with the Madison Wisconsin Fire Department. Madison Fire is a full-time fire department and TJ has wanted nothing more in his life than to be a full-time firefighter.

TJ came to Eden Prairie Fire from the Victoria Fire Department, since his arrival here he has been an extremely positive force and always looking to improve his skills. It is always too bad when we lose people of TJ’s caliber, but seeing him get the chance to live his dream is more than compensation for our loss.

Good Luck, TJ. We will miss you!

Last week my family and I moved into a new house. A town home to be exact. We looked long and hard for a smaller place that was built within the last 5 years. Smaller because all but one of our children are off on their own.

The reason for the recent construction was to insure that we moved into a home that was equipped with a residential sprinkler system. I have written several times about the power of residential sprinkler systems and I wanted to be sure that I put my money where my mouth is.

It may sound crazy to some, but I feel an extra level of security knowing that my family and possessions are being protected 24/7 from catastrophic loss by this relatively simple system.

I would encourage anybody who is building new or moving to strongly consider the inclusion of a residential sprinkler system as a requirement. You’ll be amazed at the peace of mind you get.

This was the question from a loyal reader the other day. No good excuses, just a crazy two weeks of being over booked.

A lot has taken place since my last entry.

Our latest class of recruits has passed their Hennepin Technical College Firefighter 1 & 2 tests. They will now be waiting to get their state certification tests completed so can be cleared to ride the trucks on calls.

A new group of 20 CERT members is going through their initial 20 hours of training. This class will bring our staffing up to 70 members, out long term goal is to get to 100 members citywide. CERT members are an important part of the public safety team when disaster strikes.

Three new Rescue Pumpers are scheduled to be called into service in the next few weeks. We have had the trucks for 3 weeks getting them ready to begin responding to calls. A promised part from one of our major suppliers has been holding up the in service date and created a lot of extra work on our part to find a solution. We think we have a solution, I’m not sure this particular supplier is going to be happy.

Bids have been opened for the new fire station and we are analyzing them to be sure we get the best value for our money. We hope to break ground in early October.

Last but not least we are in the final stages of planning for our Fire Department Open House. This event has become a big deal for kids and parents all over Eden Prairie. Our crowds range from 2000 to 3000 depending on the weather. This year our Police Department is joining forces with us and having their open house at the same time. There will be more to do and see as a result of the collaborative effort.

So there you have it. A brief overview of what has been going on lately at the department and in my little piece of that world. I will be gone the rest of the week but will return with my blogs next week.

Early Sunday morning thunderstorms rolled into Eden Prairie and continued to redevelop over the city for much of the morning hours. The city received 6 to 9 inches of rain and a large amount of lightening.

During the course of the day, the paging system went out as did several of our alternate fire radio channels, a challenging situation. Our staff responded with dedication, responding to a total of 27 calls (our normal daily average is 4), including two structure fires.

I hope today will be a more peaceful day, and missed sleep and family time can both be caught up on.

Hats off to our hardworking and dedicated firefighters and their understanding families! Our volunteer system works well due to our energetic, well trained staff.

Last night local News Station Channel 9 began a drive for water and diapers to be sent to the effected areas of Hurricane Katrina. The response has been overwhelming and heartwarming.

With every opportunity like this one, come challenges. Staffing this drop-off point will be a big task.

The Eden Prairie Fire Department has an excellent relationship with staff from Channel 9, in fact one of our volunteer firefighters works for Channel 9. We have been asked to provide any help we can to help staff the drop-off point. Assistant Chief, Scott Taylor has volunteered to head up the staffing efforts from our pool of resources. In addition to firefighters and Police Reserve Officers we will be calling on our CERT members and also getting the word out to the faith community through our Police and Fire Chaplain program.

As usual the citizens of Eden Prairie, both corporate and individual are demonstrating their caring and giving ways. I am sure the efforts will help bring some relief to a tragic situation in the aftermath of the Hurricane.