2b. Fire Chief's Report
~b
CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT
P.O. Box 97 · 7610 Laredo Drive · Chanhassen, MN 55317
Bus. Phone 952-227-1200 · Minnewashta Station NO.2. Phone 952-474-7094
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
FROM:
Gregg Geske- Fire Chief
Sherri Walsh - 1 st Assistant Chief
Rick Rice - 2nd Assistant Chief
Mark Littfin- Fire Marshal ~
Joe Berg - Training Officer O' ~
DATE:
April 22, 2008
SUBJ:
Monthly City Council update
Fire Department Overview:
We had one member resign from the Fire Department and are currently at 44 members. Weare in the
process of hiring additional probationary firefighters. As of April 18, 2008 we are at 161 calls for the
year, which is up 4 calls from the same time in 2007. We did have two structure fires since our last
council update utilizing mutual aid from Victoria, Chaska, and Eden Prairie Fire Departments.
Training: This month's training consisted of water rescue training and fire training at the West Metro
Training Facility.
Fire Marshal:
Fire Prevention: Nothing new to report on at this time.
Fire Investigations: There are two house fires currently under investigation. The first happened on
Monday, March 24th at 6:58 p.m. in the Timberwood neighborhood. The cause ofthe fire is focusing on
a heat exchanger unit that was used in conjunction with the furnace. There was a meeting last Monday,
April 14th on site with representatives from the insurance companies as well as the manufactures of the
heat exchange unit. The Fire Department is done with our investigation at this time. It is up to the
mechanical and electrical engineers to determine if the unit failed and caused the fire. The insurance
company was very impressed with the Fire Department in preserving the fire scene and the evidence left
from the fire for the engineers to inspect. Fire personnel stayed at the house all night after the fire for
security reasons and to watch for a possible rekindle.
Todd Gerhardt
March 17, 2008
Page 2
The second fire was on Friday, April 18th at approx 7:45 a.m. on Oxbow Bend. The Fire
Department quickly responded and made an exterior attack on the back side lower level of the house.
The fire was extinguished within 4 to 5 minutes using 310 ~allons of water. The walkout level sustained
moderate to heavy smoke and heat damage. The 1 st and 2n levels received light to moderate smoke
damage. An improperly discarded smoking material appeared to be the cause of the fire. The insurance
company expects the homeowners to be out of the house for approximate three months.
Fire Inspections: Current new projects at various stages of construction are: Chanhassen High School,
Dell Professional Building, K. Hovanian Townhomes, MAMAC Properties, Autobahn Motorplex,
Power Systems (expansion), Snap Fitness, Smart Trac, Southwest Transit Station and a number of small
remodeling projects. Inspections of existing buildings are continuing.