2b. Fire Chief Update
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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
Gregg Geske- Fire Chief {)~ .
Roger Smallbeck - 1 st Assistant Chief
Rick Rice - 2nd Assistant Chief
Mark Littfin- Fire Marshal
FROM:
DATE:
August 18, 2009
SUBJ:
Monthly City Council Update
Fire Department Overview:
Staffing is at 39 active firefighters and 5 probationary firefighters as of August 14,2009,
allocation is 45 PTE's.
As of August 13th we had responded to 345 calls, down 19 from the same time period last year.
We have responded to quite a few weather related structure fires lately. We had one in
Chanhassen and responded mutual aid twice to Eden Prairie and once to Victoria for structure
fires.
Training: This month's training consisted of familiarization tours of the new high school,
apparatus operation, and address search. We did quite a few actual fire attack training operations
in July in an acquired structure.
Fire Marshal:
Fire Prevention: Preparations are under way for fire prevention week and the annual Fire Dept.
open house. As in past years we will be working in conjunction with Chanhassen Elementary,
Bluff Creek Elementary, St. Hubert's, and Chapel Hill Academy. The students walk and are
bused to the fire station to learn the latest techniques in fire prevention and fire education. We
are very impressed each year with the number of Chanhassen Firefighters who take vacation time
from their full time jobs to spend a day teaching and entertaining the kids. Each year we will
have gotten our fire safety message out to over 2,000 children, ranging from pre-school through
kindergarten to grades one through five.
Fire Investigations: The summer started .off quiet with regards to storm related calls. Then in
the past three weeks we had three lightning related fire calls in the city and two calls for mutual
aid. One was in Eden Prairie and one in Victoria for lightning strike fires. In Chanhassen the
first was on July 21st at 8:55 PM at 6691 Mulberry Dr. The house was hit, however no fire. The
next one was on Saturday, Aug. 8th at 12:40 AM at 6900 Minnewashta Parkway. Again the
house was hit, but no fire was found. The third was at 311 Timber Hill on Sunday, Aug. 2nd at
11 :30 PM. Upon arrival flames were visible from the attic. Damage was limited to the attic
space with water damage to the upper level. No other significant fires to report on.
Fire Inspections: Weare in the final stages of acceptance tests at the Chanhassen High School.
All tests and final inspections are proceeding very well. Walgreens Pharmacy finished up in the
past two weeks and is now open. Kwik Trip is also nearing completion and is scheduled to open
in the next week or so. Inspections of day cares, convenience store gas stations, and restaurants
are progressing well. We are also finishing fire inspections at a number of our apartment
buildings so they can be issued their rental licenses.