Fire chiefs from across Minnesota are meeting in Saint Cloud through tomorrow, attending professional development sessions about emergency medical response, issues facing fire chiefs and other topics. Dale Specken with the State Fire Chiefs Association says they’re also trading notes on significant fires that happened around the state over the past year, including Melrose, Madelia and the Callaway train crash. Specken says firefighters have so many different situations to deal with on a daily basis that ongoing training is important.
State Fire Chiefs Association President George Esbensen echoes structure fires are just a part of what fire departments deal with. “Mostly what a lot of us do is car crashes, medicals, people trapped in grain bins, trench rescues, water rescues, rail emergencies,” he says. Esbensen says another challenge is recruiting new firefighters. He says fewer people are joining volunteer fire departments because of time constraints and societal changes.