May 2022

Fire Department Updates

Chief’s Message

The Fire Department had a very busy and active month of May, one of our single busiest months for call volume in our department’s history; a total of 612 responses. In addition, we had a lot of different training drills, community outreach events, and a couple significant storms that put a strain on the community and resources.
One program I want to take a quick moment to highlight is our multi-family inspections program. The spring and summer is a busy time for our inspections and fire prevention efforts as we spend a significant amount of time annually performing safety and health inspections of all multi-family buildings that are 5 units or greater. This is a part of their licensing process and helps to keep these buildings safe and operating appropriately. Our fire inspectors perform interior and exterior inspections; inspecting units for fire hazards and safety, code compliance, and overall safety considerations of more than 160 multi-family buildings in our community.
We are preparing for our summer events, which include three Friday’s with Firefighters, as well as being involved with the many different activities and events of Rosefest. It will be great to have these events back for our community to share and celebrate. Information on many of the events can be found in this newsletter.

May Community Outreach

Explorer Program

We're back up and running! We'd love to have you come join us! Anyone in 6th grade through seniors, contact Emily at 651-792-7309 for more information on how to sign up.
We'll be having our first meeting on Sunday, June 19th and meeting two Sunday evenings each month.

Retiree Celebration

This month we were able to gather some of our retired firefighters together at the fire station and celebrate the history of the department. We are thankful we could share stories, reconnect, and have everyone together once again.

Department Recognition Event

We were also able to gather most of the department, along with our families, together in one place and time to recognize the incredible work we did over the past few years. Years of service awards, as well as excellence awards, including a few Medals of Valor were awarded to firefighters. And we'd like to thank Tipsy Steer and High Pines Brewing for providing space and food for the event!

Special Ride Alongs

During a Sunday in May we had two special guests who work for Rosebnauer International in the Austrian facility join our crew for a ride along. Both of these Rosenbauer employees happen to be firefigthers in Austria as well. The guests were able to get a glimpse into how the North American Fire Service operates and even take a few training ideas back to their fellow firefighters at home. Our firefighters enjoyed learning a about some of the way European firefighters operate and had a great time responding to calls with the two ride alongs.

FIREOPS 101

On Saturday May 21st, 7 different municipalities from around the Twin Cities metro area and their respective Union firefighters joined together for an event called FIREOPS101. This event had many local leaders ranging from city councilmembers, mayors, to human resources and finance directors participate in a "day in the life" of a firefighter. Various stations consisting of different training scenarios including vehicle extrication, search and rescue, cardiac arrest management, and live fire simulation were put on by individual departments. We appreciate our local leaders participating in this great event to get a real feel of the job duties we perform on a regular basis.

May Notable Events

Garage Fire

On Tuesday May 3^rd Roseville crews along with Auto Aid from Lake Johanna, Little Canada, and St. Anthony Fire Departments responded to an attached garage fire. Upon arrival crews found a small smoldering fire which was quickly extinguished. No injuries were reported and firefighters cleared the scene within 30 minutes after arriving.

Auto Aid Fire

On Saturday May 7^th crews responded to Shoreview to assist the Lake Johanna Fire Department as part of our auto-aid agreement with a detached garage type building fire. Crews arrived on-scene quickly and assisted Lake Johanna crews with extinguishing a fully involved building on fire along with a rapidly moving grass fire. Winds were in excess of 15-20mph causing the grass fire to spread rapidly. Due to the quick action of firefighters no other structures were damaged.

Fatal Vehicle Accident

Also on Saturday May 7^th crews were dispatched to an accident with injuries on West Bound Highway 36 at Dale Street with reports of the occupant being trapped and the vehicle on fire. Upon arrival crews quickly extinguished a small fire while also immediately starting the extrication process of a single male occupant utilizing the "Jaws of Life". Crews worked quickly to conduct a extremely difficult extrication, medical care was provided to the driver but was later pronounced deceased by paramedics.

Storm Response

On evening of May 11th the City of Roseville took a direct hit by a line of severe thunderstorms. Roseville Firefighters along with Automatic Aid partners responded to over 27 emergency incidents as a result of the storm including two building fires, several vehicles with trapped occupants due to rapidly rising water levels, and numerous power line down reports. While these emergencies tax our resources, calling firefighters back in from home and utilizing our mutual aid partners allowed us to respond to each incident in a timely fashion limiting damages and keeping our community safe. As a reminder if you ever see a downed power line, or trees arcing after touching a power line, please call 911 and DO NOT go near the area!

Old Dutch Vehicle Fire

Did you know Roseville has an Old Dutch potatoe chip factory in it?? Well we do and on May 26^th one of the Old Dutch Chip Delivery vehicles got a little "well done" catching fire as it entered the parking lot of their facility. Crews responded quickly and were able to extinguish the fire before any damage could be done to the precious cargo.

May Training Events

Active Shooter Training

Crews participated in two days of active shooter training with Roseville Police at the University of Northwestern campus. This training plays a critical roll in helping to assure that our firefighters and police officers are ready to respond to this type of emergency with the goal of saving lives regardless of the challenges faced. This high level of training and cooperation has been a focus of both departments over the last several years and will continue to be an emphasis into the future.

May Department Statistics

Fire and Hazardous Condition Calls – 37
Rescue & Emergency Medical Service Calls – 425
Service Calls – 53
Good Intent Calls – 71
False Alarm Calls – 26
Total Calls – 612

Mark your Calendars!

Fridays with Firefighters 10am to noon!
- June 24
- July 22
- August 19