2b Fire Department Monthly Update
~b
CHANHASSEN FIRE DEPARTMENT
P.O. Box 97.7610 Laredo Drive. Chanhassen, MN 55317
Bus. Phone 934-9191 . Minnewashta Station NO.2. Phone 474-7094
MEMORANDUM
TO: Todd Gerhardt, City Manager
FROM:
Gregg Geske- Fire Chief ()~.
Sherri Walsh - 1 st Assistant Chief
Randy Wahl - 2nd Assistant Chief
Mark Littfin- Fire Marshal
Ed Coppersmith - Training Officer
DATE:
September 19, 2005
SUBJ:
Monthly City Council update
Fire Department Overview:
Staffing is at 39 active firefighters and 6 on probation as of September 15,2005; allocation
is 45 PTEs. We did lose one of our active firefighters due to distance from the station and
time constraints.
As of September 11, we were at 429 calls for the year, up 27 from 402 at the same time in
2004. Since our last report we had one structure fire due to a lightning strike and we were
called to Shakopee for mutual aid for the St. Mark's church fire and called twice to Eden
Prairie for mutual aid for structure fires. The department is busy planning fire education
activities for Fire Prevention Week and our annual Open House scheduled for October 16th.
We will also have our annual physical agility test in October.
Fire Training:
August was a very busy month for fire department training. Individual companies
conducted pump and aerial training and the dive team trained several days throughout the
month. The new rookie company finished the Intro to Firefighting class given at the fire
station and have now started Firefighter I and II at Hennepin Tech College. Also during
August, Chanhassen Fire attended live burn training and search and rescue training at the
south Metro Training facility in Edina.
Fire Marshal:
No fires to report.
Todd Gerhardt
September 19, 2005
Page 2
Fire Inspections:
During the past month we finished or nearly finished inspecting daycare centers, schools and
service stations. New construction projects have slowed somewhat. Projects still under
construction are Lakewinds Foods, Walgreen's Pharmacy and Stone Creek Town Offices.
Also, the water treatment plant is getting underway. Goddard School received their
Certificate of Occupancy two weeks ago.
Fire Prevention:
Weare in the final stages of scheduling the four elementary schools in Chanhassen for
visiting the fire station during Fire Prevention Week. We will also be visiting a number of
the daycare centers and in-home daycare facilities. When Fire Prevention Week is over,
more than 3,000 children will receive fire/safety messages. Beth Hoiseth, Crime Prevention
Specialist, will also be assisting the Fire Department in safety training. The Fire Department
Open House is being planned for Sunday, October 16th from 1 :00 to 4:00 pm. Please stop in
and visit. This is the Department's time to shine for the community.