|
|
|
Firefighters calling for full-time chief By
LETA NOLAN CHILDERS Pierre Volunteer Fire Department plans to recommend that the city hire a full-time fire chief. The plan, according to current fire chief Greg Baker, has been under consideration for some time. When fire superintendent Tom Kurtenbach accepted a position as the fire chief of the Yankton Fire Department, it created a vacancy within the paid staff of the department. “The department has grown so much,” said Baker. “And as the city has grown, so has the responsibilities of the fire chief.” A seven-member committee was formed to listen to testimony from the volunteer members of the department and make a recommendation. The committee was comprised of Baker, public safety commissioner Larry Weiss, Tom Jaros from the state fire marshal’s office, former fire chiefs Randy Sprenkle and Russ Hendrix, manager of JC Penney’s Terry Jirschele and Jim Protexter, director of the Pierre Economic Development Corp. The committee studied three options: keep the current superintendent position and the associated duties; keep the superintendent position and modify the duties; or eliminate the superintendent position and hire a paid fire chief. Baker said that under the plan the department will recommend to the Pierre City Commission, the fire chief would be in charge of the day-to-day operations and would report directly to the director of public safety. Baker and his successors would become assistant fire chief, but still maintain command responsibilities. This comes at a time when the department, thanks to federal homeland security grants, has expanded its capabilities in rescue operations. Baker said that the department will soon have its hazardous materials trailer ready to roll should the need arrive. Pierre’s hazmat trailer is only the fourth to go into operation in the state. The other three, located in Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, are all operated by non-volunteer fire departments. Pierre also has the largest area of responsibility for responding to hazmat situations—ranging from the North Dakota border to the Nebraska border and most of central South Dakota. “This is what homeland security wanted,” said Baker. “They wanted us to have the means to protect people. That’s what the grants are for.” Recently, the department trained and finished work on a trailer that can respond to cave-ins at excavations and trenches. The technical rescue team can also respond to rope rescues and confined space rescues. Baker said the team has already used ropes to rescue people from a car accident. This weekend, rescue team members will train using the new “jaws of life” that the department has obtained, replacing the lifesaving equipment the department has been using for decades. Baker said he hopes to present the department’s proposal to the commission at its next regular meeting on Tuesday.
For more information about the Pierre Fire |
