WSTribune • Oct. 10, 2015...Page 7

A salute to our fire departm

ent! - Thank you to all the local firefighters!

A salute to our fire departmentA salute to our fire department

BLFD FIRE CHIEF Paul Nemes. (Photo byJennifer Edwards.)

To Be A Firefighter…

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BLFD OPEN HOUSE! Sun, Oct. 11, 2015, 11am – 2pm

Big Lake Fire Station

FIRE SAFETY & DEMOS FREE* pumpkins - while supplies last

(courtesy of Fire Fighter “Pumpkin” Pete)

FREE* Hot dogs, popcorn, cookies,& bottled water

THROUGHOUT THE DAY ENJOY:• North Memorial Helicopter• Big Lake Police Department• CentraCare Ambulance

• Centerpoint & Connexus Energy will be demonstrating gas and power line safety.• Sherburne Wildlife Refuge Fire Service

• MN DNR • The American Red Cross

• Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office• K9 Demonstration

• Kitchen Fire Simulation Trailer Demonstration• Fire Truck rides & demonstrations by the

BL Fire Fighters ...& MUCH More!

*Please bring a food shelf item donation.

Jennifer EdwardsStaff Writer

The Big Lake Fire Dept.is getting ready for their an-nual fall open house Sun-day, marking the end of FirePrevention Week. The BLFD serves theCity of Big Lake, Big LakeTownship and portions ofOrrock Township and fund-ing for their budget comesfrom each of these govern-ing bodies, who split thecosts. The department consistsof Fire Chief Paul Nemes,who is a fulltime firefighterin Minneapolis, and a corpsof 35 other volunteers,three of whom are women. “Our complement is 35,”Chief Nemes said. “So weare one over right now.” Having an extra recruiton hand seems like a wiseidea, when five of the crew,Ken Halverson, PeteAhrens, Dennis Nagorski,Shawn Redepenning andDan Mooney have over 25years of service each. Sev-eral others already have 20years in. Chief Nemes hasbeen with the departmentfor 19 years. The department respondsto an average of 17-18 callsper month, but not all thecalls involve fighting fire.More often it is a call to anaccident where traffic con-trol and perhaps the jaws oflife are needed. Life as a firefighter canbe hectic. First of all, anynew recruit must agree to beavailable to be on-call forday shift for their first fiveyears with the department. “This really helps us be-cause otherwise there is al-ways a risk of not havingenough trained peopleavailable in the daytimewhen most people areworking,” Chief Nemessaid.

Training Signing up to volunteer isjust the start. Then the train-ing begins. Each volunteer

spends a minimum of eighthours per month goingthrough required training. “That doesn’t includetheir time going to otherschools for specialty train-ing,” Chief Nemes said. Specialty training can in-clude things like driving thebig rigs, pumping water,hazardous materials train-ing, using the jaws of lifeand more. All firefightersare first responders, trainedin CPR and first aid. Train-ing is offered Tuesday andThursday evenings and Sat-urdays. Firefighters can get calledout for all kinds of reasons,from a child with its headstuck in a railing to a haz-ardous materials spill. Theyrespond to all of them. “But we will not get yourcat out of a tree,” ChiefNemes said. “No matterwhat, when the cat getshungry enough, it will fig-ure out how to get down.The proof of that is younever find a dead cat stuckup in a tree.” While the number of callsfor help have increased overtime, the department re-ceived their highest volumeof calls six or seven yearsago when housing construc-tion was going strong. “When the economyslowed down, so did thenumber of calls,” ChiefNemes said. “If there is aspike in the number of callsnow, it is weather related,like grass fire season or se-vere weather situations.”

Mutual Aid All fire departments havemutual aid agreements withtheir neighbors and fire-fighters can find themselvesvolunteering in a neighbor-hood community. Saturday, while the BigLake Fire Dept. was attend-ing a mandatory training atthe Minneapolis TrainingFacility, Becker Fire Dept.was on stand-by. A callcame in about a combine

harvester on fire in a fieldbehind the fire station.Becker went to put it out. Once the fire is out or thecrisis is over, there is the lit-tle matter of housekeepingto attend to. The enginemust be made ready to gothe next time a call comesin. Wet hose is removed anddry hose is packed, floorsare swept or vacuumed andcleaned. Trash is removed.The fire station and thetrucks are kept in tip-topshape at all times. It is also the scene of theannual firefighters dance, anover-21 event which raisesfunds for the firefighters re-lief association. Firefightersbecome vested after 10years of service. All themoney in this fund is raisedby the fire department anddoes not come from publicfunds. Besides the hours spent intraining and helping outwhen a crisis occurs, BigLake’s firefighters volun-teer hours and hours of timeevery year with events likeSpud Fest, the all nightgraduation party, Moviesand Music in the Park, theBig Lake Chamber of Com-merce annual Block Party,the Night to Unite Picnic inthe Park and countless other

events. The fire department col-lects donations for the BigLake Food Shelf at their an-nual chili cook-off andSmelt Fry. They volunteerto ring the bell for the Sal-vation Army.

Fire Prevention They also spent hundredsof hours every year teachingothers about fire safety. Vol-unteers from the departmentgo to Liberty and Independ-ence Elementary Schoolsand to the local day cares toteach children about firesafety. They host groups of chil-dren at the fire hall and letthem explore the fire trucksand handle some of theequipment. And they put on the bestattended fire departmentopen house in the state,thanks in part to the effortsof one man, who had anidea. Firefighter Pete Ahrenshas taken it upon himself togo to the trouble and ex-pense of planting and rais-ing a field full of pumpkinsto give away to those whoattend the open house andlearn something new aboutfire safety. “We went out and helpedhim harvest them a couple Firefighters Cont. On Pg 9

BIG LAKE FIREFIGHTERS spend hours each month in training. Saturday they were at the Min-neapolis Training Facility in Hennepin County, where they have an opportunity to practice techniquesin a safe environment. They have an opportunity to see what it is like to fight a fire in a high-rise build-ing or a warehouse situation. Their safety gear is an important part of the training and can save theirlives. Some of the training is mandated by the state. Everyone on the department also takes specializedtraining.(Above), firefighters gear up to begin training. (Middle left), As one of the newer members ofthe department, Firefighter LaDonna Hensel is the last to enter this practice burn in Minneapolis.(Below), Chief Nemes teaches the crew at the Big Lake Fire Hall. Firefighters train a minimum of eighthours per month, Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays. (Photos courtesy of Firefighter Laura Hayes).

WSTribune • Oct. 10, 2015...Page 8

A salute to our fire departmentA salute to our fire departmentA

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Thank you to the men & women of our

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263-7676Hwy. 10 • Big Lake

Honoring the BLFD

Lots of history on the BLFD

BIG LAKE’S OLDEST FIRE TRUCK dates back to 1936. It has not been used in years, except for parades. Pictured fromthe left are Shawn Redepenning, Dennis Nagorski, Pete Ahrens, Dan Mooney in the driver’s seat, and Ken Halverson. (Photo byJennifer Edwards).

Jennifer EdwardsStaff Writer

Big Lake FirefightersShawn Redepenning,Daniel Mooney, PeteAhrens, Dennis Nagorskiand Ken Halverson haveseen lots of changes overthe 25 plus years they havevolunteered with the depart-ment. Redepenning has beenthere the longest. He,Ahrens, Mooney andNagorski all have 28 yearsin. Assistant Chief Halver-son will have 26 year withthe department in January. Redepenning is a thirdgeneration firefighter. Bothhis grandfathers were fire-fighters and his dad was afire chief, so it seemed nat-ural for him to volunteerand his wife, Janel, under-stood that from the start. Mooney said he was inthe National Guards whenhe decided to sign up to bea firefighter. Two of hiswife Marcia’s relativeswere firefighters. “It was something else Iwanted to do to serve thecommunity,” Dan said. Dennis and Pete were inthe same grade in the oldschool on Hwy. 10. Dennissaid he saw some of hisolder school mates workingwith the department and de-cided to volunteer. Pete and his wife, Gayle,live along the railroadtracks. Back then, trainsstarted a lot of fires as theypassed by dry brush andweeds. Pete often saw fire-fighters he knew out put-ting out fires and helpedthem. Signing up was thenext step. “I just thought it wouldbe fun,” said Halverson,who describes his decisionto join up as spur of the mo-ment, made before he mar-ried his wife, Julie. Twentysix years later it is still fun,he says. “The only bad thing in atown this size is that soonerof later you will answer acall and it is going to besomeone you know,” he

said. The five firefighters haveseen many changes over theyears, from the old fire hallon Putnam Avenue(jammed against the rail-road tracks and the oldMacDonalds parking lot,the building was con-demned by the city, al-though still used by the BigLake Fire Dept.), to the fa-cility they have now on Co.Rd. 43. “There were cracks in thewalls and you could watchthe trains go by,” saidHalverson. “We had fourtrucks and three doors “There have been a lot ofchanges,” said Mooney.“And a lot of people havecome and gone over theyears.” There old turnout gearleft a lot to be desired.Some of the pants still hadsilver reflective strips downthe legs. Dennis recalledgoing to a fire call and get-ting burned on the shoulderbecause the jackets offered

so little protection. “The firefighter who waswith me went to the hospitalfor treatment,” he said.

Good Government Redepenning said he wasgrateful for the way thegoverning bodies from thecity and the two townshipsthey serve have stepped upto provide for the needs ofthe department, from thefire hall to their equipment. “The other major changeis the leap forward in tech-nology,” he said. “What wehave today, from paging tothermal imaging, to elec-tronics for the control panelis amazing,” he said.“Equipment can actually beto good. It let’s you godeeper and further into afire than we have ever beenable to go.” “The quality of the train-ing we have now is phe-nomenal,” Halverson said.“There is a lot more trainingthan there used to be.” Besides the training man-dated by the state, the de-

partment has participated intrainings at the nuclearpower plant and Sherco, onthe Northstar train and intheir maintenance facility, afertilizer plant and more. The department also re-sponds to a lot more callsfor help than they used to,from 40-50 per year toaround 250. “The calls do come at theworst possible times,”Halverson said. “And if thecalls come in the middle ofthe night, you still have toget up and answer them,then probably go to workagain the next day.” “If you spend three hoursat a fire scene, you spendanother three hours clean-ing up afterwards to geteverything back togetherfor next call,” Redepenningsaid.

Mutual Aid Firefighters have mutualaid agreements with otherfire departments in the com-munities around them. Ifsomeone else needs help,

they turn out. “We have great mutualaid partners,” Halversonsaid. Fire calls can go instreaks. One year they had10 structure fires in nineweeks, then nothing formonths. Dennis recalled a thun-derstorm with lots of light-ning that started threeseparate fires. Dan recalledthe year the tornado wentthrough town and tore outthe doors of the fire hall. “I spent three days herebefore I could get themfixed,” he said. Then there are the acci-dents. “I never forget the nameof a fatality,” Redepenningsaid, as each recalled someof the worst things they hadseen and had to deal with. “There is no training thattells you how to tell yourkids one of their classmateshas died,” he said. “I had todo that.” There was the old feedmill that burned and the dayMcDonald’s caught on fire.There were two planecrashes where people diedand several helicoptercrashes, mostly involvingthe same pilot. There were the three men

who died when they fell offa grain elevator and peoplewho died jumping from carto car on the railroad tracks.Numerous vehicle accidentsare etched in their memo-ries. “My son works for an-other department,” saidMooney. “One day therewas a report that someonefrom his department hadbeen hit and killed on thefreeway. It wasn’t him but itwas one gut-wrenchingfeeling.”

Meeting People One of the things all fivefirefighters said they en-joyed was meeting people. “For every person whocan make life challenging,there are plenty more goodpeople,” Redepenning said.“I am so thankful for them.” The public relations andfire prevention educationside of what the departmentdoes has also become moretime consuming. Sunday’s open house,capping fire preventionweek, will draw around2,000 people. Some willonly come to get the freepumpkins Pete Ahrensgrows to give away at theevent each year. “It seemed like a good Dedication Cont. On Page 9

WSTribune • Oct. 10, 2015...Page 9

A salute to our fire departmentA salute to our fire department

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idea so one year we thoughtwe’d try it,” Pete said. The pumpkin giveawayhas been a huge successand Ahrens considers itwell worth his time if evenone person learns some-thing new about fire pre-vention which might save alife. “Everybody bringssomething to the table,”said Redepenning. “Somepeople are mechanics orengineers. Nobody elsebrings pumpkins.” Anyone who is consider-ing joining the fire depart-ment should really considerthe idea carefully and makesure their family is 100%on board with the idea, Re-depenning said.

of Saturdays ago,” ChiefNemes said. “They are allin storage now so theywon’t be harmed by frost.The numbers are down alittle because we had somuch rain.” To earn a pumpkin, everyperson who attends theopen house will be given apassport to fire preventionand they must get the cardstamped at a minimum ofthree exhibits or stations in-side the event. “Our focus is on fire pre-vention,” Chief Nemessaid. “This is not just apumpkin giveaway. Thereare lot of dedicated, hard-working people here.”

Minneapolis trainingfacility. (Submittedphotos.)

Firefighters Continued From Page 7___

Dedication Continued From Page 8_________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

“I tell new recruits oncethey have passed the test tothink about it very care-fully,” he said. “It costs alot of money to train some-one before they can evenrespond to their first firecall.” “Sometimes you getsomeone and it seems likethey will do well, but thenthose calls come in at 2a.m.,” said Halverson. “It is a great gig thoughand I highly recommend itfor anyone who wants togive back to the commu-nity,” Redepenning said. “You really get to knowthe community said Den-nis. “And you meet somany people.”

BEING A FIREFIGHTER  is a big commitment but it is also a great way to give back to the com-munity, Big Lake Firefighters say. Besides the time it takes to answer calls for help, which includesaccidents and mutual aid, a lot of time is dedicated to training and educating themselves and othersabout fire safety. The flame pictures were taken by Firefighter Mark Hedstrom (right), at training burns.Above right is Firefighter jason Smith, who spends hours each fall talking to children in schools andday cares about the danger of fire and fire safety. Below is Firefighter Sam Olson. Sam has volun-teered with the department for 20 years. Lt. Olson also serves with the Big Lake Police Dept. Thankthem all at Sunday’s Fire Dept. Open House, marking the end of Fire Prevention Week.