2023 Fire Prevention

F re SAFETY prevention+

OCTOBER 8-14, 2023

Battling house fire during a blizzard

Walz grateful to emergency personnel

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER

Normally, it takes Melrose firefighters about eight minutes to respond to an emergency call in Meire Grove. Just after midnight, Feb. 23, in the middle of a blizzard, it took firefighters almost triple the time as they busted through snowdrifts to get to a house fire on the Ethan Walz property along Highway 4 in Meire Grove.

Walz sat down Sept. 17 to talk about the incident. He recalled the early morning of the fire when a smoke detector woke him.

“I smelled smoke and saw flames in the living room,” he said.

He alerted his roommate, who was on the second floor, and they and two dogs got out safely, snow swirling around them. They called for help. Law enforcement was

the first to arrive, followed by firefighters.

“I was surprised the fire department got there so fast because it was so bad out,” Walz said.

Melrose Fire Chief Tom Budde said, as he drove in his truck to the fire hall after the department received the 12:26 a.m. call from Stearns County dispatch, he immediately requested mutual aid from the Sauk Centre Fire Department because of the weather conditions and the reported extent of the fire.

Adam Schmidt, a Melrose firefighter who was working dispatch in St. Cloud for the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department that morning, had also been aware of the weather and had lined up resources if a second call came in for the Melrose department.

Budde was in the first fire truck leaving the hall.

The fire department’s full fleet, including the aerial truck, was responding, which Budde said is typical for structure fires.

Walz

Matt Mitzel Andy Noble Andy Otremba Mark Buntjer

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Homeowner Ethan Walz (left) meets Sept. 20 with Melrose Fire Chief Tom Budde in front of the foundation of Walz’ new house being built in Meire Grove. Seven months ago, it was a much different day, weather-wise, when Melrose, Sauk Centre and Freeport fire departments responded Feb. 23, during a blizzard, to a house fire that severely damaged Walz’ two-story structure.

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“As we were driving to the scene from Melrose, the road conditions were treacherous,” Budde said. “I requested tankers from the Freeport Fire Department, and when I got on scene, seeing the conditions and knowing the manpower we had — and Sauk Centre gave me an estimate of their guys — I requested Freeport bring manpower as well.”

Budde did a walk around the house and developed a plan to fight the fire.

“I had one crew go in the front door and a second crew extend a line on the back of the house to get into the walkout basement,” Budde said. “When Sauk Centre showed up, they attacked the house on the north side with their pumper. We had a very successful first hit on it and knocked the fire down.”

Firefighters set up two drop tanks on Highway 4, which had been blocked off for traffic by Stearns County Sheriff deputies. Freeport drivers were directed to have one tanker travel to the scene on Highway 13 and the other tanker to take Highway 4 south so that they could fill up the drop tanks with water.

Firefighters from Melrose, Sauk Centre and Freeport battle a house fire during a blizzard at the Ethan Walz property Feb. 23 in Meire Grove. Melrose Fire Chief Tom Budde said they had a very successful first

down, although the house was severely damaged.

Budde said he was concerned about the house to the north of the structure possibly catching on fire.

“Thankfully, the wind was in our favor, pushing (the fire) to the west,” he said.

With the snow and cold elements, water lines started freezing up, so tankers needed to be switched. To stay warm, firefighters took turns warming up inside trucks.

“Never did we run out of water or manpower to put the fire out,” said Budde.

He estimated there were close to 60 firefighters on scene.

One Melrose fireman was taken to CentraCare-

Melrose Hospital by Melrose ambulance to be evaluated after he fell through the floor.

Walz and his roommate watched from the sideline, keeping warm in vehicles as snow continued falling with a strong wind the whole five hours firefighters were on scene.

Budde said he was pleased with his team.

“To have the house still standing in the conditions we were faced with, the guys did an excellent job putting it out,” he said.

In his 22 years on the department, this was his first time responding to a fire during a blizzard although the department has been called to medicals and accidents during

snowstorms.

He is grateful department officers carry radios with them to get mutual aid going quickly rather than having to wait to get to the hall before contacting dispatch.

“To get that mutual aid coming is definitely a big time saver, knowing the conditions we were faced with,” Budde said.

Walz, 26, son of Bruce and Jonel Walz of Melrose, lived in the former Joe and Frances Schneider house four years, just south of where he works at Schneider Collision & Hydrographics, LLC.

He was unable to save anything from inside his house because it was

fire,

either burned or suffered smoke damage.

“I walked out of my house in pajamas and a pair of boots,” Walz said. “A bunch of people chipped in the next day and got me clothes.”

It was determined the cause of the fire had to do with a pipe on his wood stove and the weather conditions.

“The wood stove was sealed, and I cleaned it every year,” he said.

The aftermath has been crazy, Walz said, starting out fresh. He recalled what it was like sifting through the rubble in his house.

“You never think about all that stuff until it’s gone, but it’s just stuff,” he

said.

To him, the important thing is everyone got out safely.

Construction of his new house has begun, with an anticipated May 2024 completion date. There will not be a wood stove, but there will be smoke detectors. He figures he had at least five in the old house.

“I tell everybody to make sure they replace their batteries in the smoke detectors,” he said.

Walz is very appreciative of the firefighters and emergency personnel who responded to the fire.

“What they do is great,” he said. “Everybody helped me and talked to me to make sure I was good. I really respect them and what they do.”

Budde said mutual aid is becoming more important, especially during uncommon conditions like battling a fire during the Feb. 23 blizzard with 20 mph winds whipping round 12 to 18 inches of snow.

“It was very well organized, and the guys did a great job working together — Melrose, Sauk Centre and Freeport,” Budde said. “That’s why we train together throughout the year.”

With every fire, every minute counts — even during a blizzard.

hit on the

knocking it

PHOTO BY RANDY OLSON

The Brooten Fire Department members are Adam Martin (front, from left), Calvin Hanson, Lynn Wold, Tyler Hanson, Gary Olson, Aaron Anderson, Thor Amundson; (middle, from left) Dave Bast, chief Mark Torkelson, Jake Steinhofer, Chris Strom, Jacob Solbreken, Matt Ogdahl, Tim Lent, Preston Kuefler; (back, from left) Kern Nelson, Jordan Bares. Not pictured are Josh Rajewsky, Todd Trustheim, Justin Vogel, Chris Welte.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Elrosa Fire Department members are Bradlyn Martin (front, from left), Chief Gary Deters, Matt Bauer, Tony Lieser, Jordan Deters, Asst. Chief Brandon Deters, Treasurer Jim Derichs, 2nd Asst. Chief Brandon Felling; (middle, from left), Nelson Zimmerman Tyler Bertram, Dwight Zimmerman, Tom Borgerding, Secretary Paul Kampsen, Jason Heinen, Brian Rademacher, Greg Martin, Megan Imdieke, Daryl Zimmerman; (back, from left) Mark Bayer, Luke Sauder, Jim Walz, Marcus Kraun, Kevin Wesbur, James Stauty, Craig Dold and Ron Boogaard.

Not pictured is Dustin Gregory and Edwin Martin.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The New Munich Fire Department members are assistant chief Kurt Ritter (front, from left), chief Allen Fiedler, Nichole Leclaire, Mike Sand and Karen Timp; (back, from left) Jeron VanDrehle, assistant chief Dan Schwieters, Tom Newman, Bryan Brickweg, Matt Heinen and Aaron Hasbrook. Not pictured Justin Boecker, Dustin Leukam.

The

are BJ

Chief Steve Moritz, Gene Wyttenback and Dave Deters; (back, from left) Bryon Friedrichs, Pete Norgren, Nick Sunderman, Jamie Kleinschmidt, Mike Sunderman, Andrew Rousslange, Scott Kowski, Weston Wander, Mike Anderson, Andrea Kerfeld and Justin Boecker. Not pictured are Booker Moritz and Jose Diaz. The Sauk Centre Fire Department members are BJ Ostendorf, (front, from left), Second Assistant Ben Clink, Mike Frieler, Joe Fuechtmann, Adam Moritz, Chuck Moritz, Jeff Peters, Bill Friedrichs and Ron Moritz; (middle, from left) Brad Odegard, Matt Wessel, Derek Essler, Training Officer Wayne Senst, First Assistant Jeff Bromenshenkel, Fire Chief Steve Moritz, Gene Wyttenback and Dave Deters; (back, from left) Bryon Friedrichs, Pete Norgren, Nick Sunderman, Jamie Kleinschmidt, Mike Sunderman, Andrew Rousslange, Scott Kowski, Weston Wander, Mike Anderson, Andrea Kerfeld and Justin Boecker. Not pictured are Booker Moritz and Jose Diaz.

Peters, Bill Friedrichs and Ron Moritz;

PHOTO BY KAYLA HUNSTIGER

Sauk Centre Fire Department members

Ostendorf, (front, from left), Second Assistant Ben Clink, Mike Frieler, Joe Fuechtmann, Adam Moritz, Chuck Moritz, Jeff

(middle, from left) Brad Odegard, Matt Wessel, Derek Essler, Training Officer Wayne Senst, First Assistant Jeff Bromenshenkel, Fire

“Because it was a fire, a lot of that smoke came into the emergency room and was on everybody’s clothes,” Scott said. “I knew the (woman’s) family, and it really bothered me a lot. … There were three or four years I couldn’t stand the smell of wood smoke because it brought me back into the emergency room and seeing the young gal who didn’t make it.”

While CISM program techniques have been around since the mid to early 1970s, the Central Minnesota Emergency Medical Services region has had a statefunded team since fall of 1991. The team is made up of peers, active and retired members of law enforcement and fire and ambulance services, some area hospital nurses and a mental health person who can be a fire chaplain or an area pastor.

The CISM team in Central Minnesota covers the counties of Benton, Cass, Crow Wing, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Todd, Sherburne, Stearns, Wadena and Wright, handling about 20-30 incidents per year.

“It’s amazing how they can get bunched,” Scott said. “We can go a couple of months and maybe have a minor call we can handle over the phone. … Next thing, we’ll have four in a week.”

The team’s dispatch is located in Benton County. When called by an emergency services department, dispatch contacts a team captain who will set up a team to be sent to the department. The number sent to a debriefing is determined by the number of individuals involved with the traumatic incident.

CISM also works with spouses and significant others of those affected.

“When it’s a line-of-

Mary

the mid to early 1970s.

duty death, a lot of people are dealing with more issues than the incident itself,” Scott said. “We offer more support in that case.”

The services CISM offers include defusing, which is a process where the team comes to the incident scene to talk with affected first responders about what symptoms they might see and what they can do to mitigate those symptoms, such as eating right, exercising, maintaining hydration and avoiding caffeine and alcohol. The services can also include one-on-one speaking and listening sessions with someone having a difficult time processing the incident, with debriefings and follow-ups as needed.

“It’s going to take a couple of days just to process what’s happened to you and what you saw and dealt with,” Scott said. “When we have the defusing, we can follow with the full-bore debriefing, which is a seven-step program by which we go through and talk about who are you, what did you see, what did you do, what’s upsetting you the most, how do you know it affected you, what’s different about what you’re doing in your everyday life that you didn’t do prior to this incident and then knowing all of

these responses you’re having are perfectly normal and … it should pass.”

If the symptoms don’t pass, someone from the CISM team and the individual can continue meetings. CISM is also connected with mental health personnel and resources along with the peer support.

In Scott’s experience, the incidents that hit the hardest are the ones involving children or a child’s death. In rural areas, farm accidents can also be traumatic because of how ugly they can get. The helplessness an emergency responder can feel after an incident can also be difficult to manage.

“In a small community, the firefighters and ambulance probably know the person in the vehicle (accident), and you never know who’s related to whom, and the closer those heartstrings are to the incident, the more emotional expense is used,” Scott said.

There is one person in the CISM team who volunteers as captain, and the position usually rotates through the members.

“(We have) 10 to 15 people involved right now,” Scott said. “We

have been up to 35, so it depends on people’s availability. … We need more volunteers. It’s just like any volunteer organization; the numbers wax and wane.”

An ideal candidate for the CISM team is someone who has been part of emergency medical services or law enforcement.

“The commitment isn’t that much,” Scott said. “A typical debriefing will take about two hours, and then there’s the drive time to wherever you’re going.”

The main thing that has kept Scott volunteering with CISM is how needed the team is for emergency personnel — and the team itself.

“Those of us who do this responding many times get as much out of the debriefing as those we are there to help,” Scott said. “It helps us review our own incidents we never did process because it wasn’t done at that time, so it’s something we still can offer, even if we are retired. … (It) also keeps young people in the field where, if they didn’t process it, they wouldn’t stay.”

PHOTO BY BEN SONNEK

Scott, who is on the Critical Incident Stress Management team, stops by the Sauk Centre Police Department and Fire Hall Sept. 13 in Sauk Centre. The CISM team has been in the area since 1991 although the program techniques have been around since

Every member of the family, especially children, should know the following steps to take in case of fire: Crawl low under smoke and cover mouth and nose with a piece of cloth. An estimated three-fourths of all fire victims die from smoke inhalation and lack of oxygen. Touch closed doors with the back of your hand to feel the temperature before opening them. Get out of the house as quickly as possible. Don't stop to try to save valuables. Never return to a burning house. Call 9-1-1 after you've left a burning building, not from inside. If clothes catch on fire, "stop, drop, cover your face, and roll" to extinguish the flames.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Villard Fire Department members are Tim Jenks (front, from left), Jonathan Malecha, Jim Walker, William Malecha, Patrick Pfeninger - Chief, Jeff Piekarski, Matt Douvier, David Tauber Jr. and Kyle Reents; (back, from left) Kyle Magnuson, Brent Werven, Devon Gahlon, Lynn Peterson, Brady Gerdes, Chad Gerdes, Ryan Gerdes, Cody Gulbranson, Steven Koppen, Tom Pfeninger - 2nd Asst Chief, Philip Jensen, Randy Rost - 1st Asst Chief.

Not pictured Chris Bryce

Compassion and camaraderie

Albany Fire Department committed to communities 130 years

BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF

WRITER

Pictures of 1903 Albany Fire Co. members, with last names Lenarz, Loehlein, Schmitt, Winter, Bachel, Thelen, Richter, Bauer, Dinndorf, Huberty, Reber and Lutz, are displayed in the fire hall meeting room in Albany, below framed photos of retired firefighters. The department has had 12 families of two-generation firefighters, five families with three generations and two families with four generations – that they know of.

Inside an adjoining building, housing current fire trucks, equipment and turnout gear, is a six-wheel ladder and hose apparatus that held buckets for fighting fires and a fire bell for a company organized July 29, 1893.

The Albany Fire Department has served the city and surrounding townships for 130 years.

“That hose cart was pulled when they took it to fires,” Rollie Gilk, retired firefighter, said Sept. 12, sitting in the meeting room with fellow retired fireman Dean Mitchell.

Gilk, who comes from a family of three-generation firefighters, served on the Albany department 32 years.. At one time son Joe, son-in-law Leon Toenies and grandson Justin Spanier served on the Albany department. Spanier is currently a Holdingford firefighter. Gilk’s son John

was on the Freeport Fire Department and is now a St. Martin firefighter and son-in-law Steve Notch is a Freeport firefighter.

Mitchell is a secondgeneration Albany firefighter, following his father, Cliff.

“As a kid, I’d go with Dad when they sprayed water here and there and when he’d go to the fire hall,” said Mitchell, who served for 34 years.

Gilk was in his 30s when he joined the department in the 1970s, at the encouragement of Frank Mareck who was a firefighter. Louie Gretsch was fire chief at the time. There wasn’t much training back then, compared to now, when new fire personnel are required to take firefighter and first responder training. During Gilk’s early days, they learned from experienced firefighters.

Mitchell joined the 25-member department in 1982 at age 27, and it continues to have a full squad of 25. Jim Thelen was fire chief and years later Mitchell would be chief for nine years.

At the time, the fire hall was next to city hall, when it was located off of main street. Mitchell said money raised from G‘Suffa Days helped build a new fire hall in the late 60s or early 70s, which was near the current fire hall built in the early 1990s.

Gilk said there wasn’t much firefighting gear in his early years.

“I had an old leather coat that went down to my ankles and an old helmet and old boots that were size 13, and I wore size 11,” he said. “They were all handme-downs.”

He doesn’t recall gloves being part of the gear.

“You probably brought your own with,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said, as a new firefighter, you hoped you were the same size as the guy you replaced.

The wader-like boots had to be pulled on and up.

“The boots probably had a hole in them, so the first time you wore them your foot got wet,” Mitchell said.

Firefighters cared for their own gear.

“When you got back to the fire hall you were sprayed off with a hose and hung your coat up to dry,” Mitchell said. “Now they have a washer and dryer.”

After a while, when new firefighters joined, they received new turnout gear.

Gilk said for fire notification, a few firefighters had fire phones at their homes.

“The fire number was 845-2222, and a person would call saying there was a fire or medical and give you the address, and we’d say we were on the way,” Mitchell said.

Gilk said there was a siren on the water tower by the fire hall and the first one at the hall turned on the switch to activate the siren, which notified the firefighters.

“Back in the 60s and 70s, 90 percent of the firemen were business men because you had to live in town (to be a fireman),” Gilk said.

That changed over the years and now firefighters have a 15-minute response time.

Gilk said when he joined there were three fire trucks in the fleet – an engine (pumper), a tanker and a refurbished NSP truck.

Gilk said the engine truck had a big Chrysler engine with a lot of power for pumping water.

“It took two guys to hold that hose (when water was coming through),” Gilk said.

Truck and equipment upgrades assisted with calls.

“One of the biggest changes was when we got

pagers,” Gilk said.

The number of air packs increased also, from the two when Mitchell joined the department, which allowed them to fight fires on the inside of structures.

Continuous training taught them new ways to fight fires, at times with new equipment.

Fire communication improved from following the smoke for farm fires to receiving directions from Stearns County dispatch.

“We had a card file in the old fire hall and every farm had a three-digit fire number, so you pulled out the card when there was a fire call,” said Gilk who, in his later years, manned the radio room at the fire hall and kept track of the coming and going of trucks and firefighters.

Mitchell said preplanning was done when firemen did walk-throughs of local businesses and schools once a year so they were prepared in case of a fire.

“We also went to a few of the bigger farms so we knew how to get out there and how to set up, and we went to other towns to train with them,” he said.

They responded to about 100 calls a year, but with the addition of medicals, calls increased.

“I remember a medical when a lady from Holdingford was in labor during a snowstorm, and we met the Holdingford Fire and Rescue to take her to the Albany Hospital,” Mitchell said.

Current Fire Chief Gary Winkels said the

department averages 260 calls a year with a coverage area of 103 miles in the city of Albany, Albany Township and parts of Krain and Farming townships, serving a population of close to 6,400 people. Their current fleet, used for medical and fire calls, includes two rescue trucks, one engine (pumper), one aerial, two tankers, one grass rig and one sideby-side.

A capital improvement plan helps determine when trucks need replacement, with funds from charitable gambling assisting with the cost.

“And we have great community support with donations,” Winkels said.

In turn, firefighters are present in the communities they serve.

“During Heritage Day we help with the 5K traffic control, the guys help at Pioneers Days. The rescue squad is at football games and we help at Holy Family School’s 5K,” Mitchell said.

Gilk smiles when saying it took him three tries to retire, until he finally said this is it.

“It was time for the younger guys to take over,” he said.

It is a big commitment to be a firefighter, Mitchell said, but he also liked the camaraderie and helping people. Gilk echoed those sentiments.

“I enjoyed all the years I was on the department,” he said.

That camaraderie and compassion for helping people has been a constant for 130 years with the Albany Fire Department.

PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN

Dean Mitchell (left) and Rollie Gilk stand inside the Albany Fire Hall in Albany Sept. 12. Each served on the 130-yearold department for more than 30 years.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALBANY FIRE DEPARTMENT

In 1903, Albany firemen Mike Lenarz (from left), A.J. Loehlein, Hans Schmitt, Adam Winter, John Bachel, Mike Thelen, Ed Richter, George Bauer, Martin Dinndorf, Paul Huberty, unknown, Tony Reber, Nick Huberty and Aloys Lutz, Sr., gathered in front of a firefighting apparatus. It held ladders, hoses and buckets.