Agenda Packets - 2002/02/25 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mounds View City Council February 11, 2002 Regular Meeting Page 9 C. Fire Department Quarterly Report - Nyle Zikmund Fire Chief Zikmund reported that the total call volume for emergency response was down approximately 15% and he attributes that to prevention and to some change in response protocols as the Police Department is handling illegal burns. He indicated that there was a recent fire in Mounds View in one of the mobile home parks that was a total loss to the structure. He then noted that a young couple with a young child was living in the home which had no working smoke detector. He further indicated that it was an early morning fire and the father had awakened to go to work and realized there was a fire and the family was able to escape unharmed. Fire Chief Zikmund reported that his department was over budget for the first time in over 6 years and for the first time during his administration. He then explained that the budget overage could be attributed to the catastrophic engine failure in one of the fire truck engines and the fact that the department had two other engines needing to be retrofitted with a different radiator so that those engines did not fail. He further explained that the department did not seek to recover any costs from the manufacturer because the attorney’s fees to do so would have cancelled out any gain. Fire Chief Zikmund explained the other reason behind the budget overage was the Larson Auto Wrecking fire that required $20,000 worth of foam from 3M. He then indicated that legal action is underway to recover the costs for that fire and the costs to do so are being borne by Blaine. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated that his staffing is at the strongest level in years and he can put together a day crew of 14 or 15 people. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated the fire department had received a grant towards the purchase of safety equipment that attaches to the self contained breathing apparatus and monitors air temperature, consumption rate, and provides an audible alarm if the fireman goes immobile for 30 seconds and has a flashing alarm to aid in location of the person. He then indicated that this is the fourth generation of this safety device and the bugs have been worked out of it making it an important safety feature for the fire department. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated that a major project for the department is converting to a state of the art software program that will provide better address information and combine all of the information now carried around in books onto the computer to be accessed via laptop computers. Fire Chief Zikmund indicated that the department had been granted another contract to continue as the HAZMAT response team. Fire Chief Zikmund reported he is involved in the Minnesota Fire Chief’s Association and the Legislative Committee. He then indicated that there are some groups attempting to legalize fireworks in Minnesota and the departments are against that because of the obvious dangers. He then indicated that there is a bill attempting to add a box to the tax return to be able to contribute to the police and fireman’s fund.