2020.10.19 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ryan Kunst 4080 Oakmede Lane White Bear Township, MN 55110 612-703-8384 Ryan.kunst a,gmail.com October 19t', 2020 Dear City Administrator Bryan Bear, I humbly submit my Letter of Interest regarding the City of Hugo Fire Chief position. One of your firefighters had contacted me directly and provided me the job posting information in hopes that I might apply. I offer my leadership, knowledge, and experience to the benefit of the citizens of Hugo. I am incredibly excited about the possibilities of accepting this role. The transition period to a new fire chief is one of the most stressful times a department can face as the members may be fearful of change and filled with uncertainty. I want to be the calm and reassuring leader facilitating this change, with unity and inclusion of the members to ensure customer satisfaction, a competent staff, and a work environment that recruits, engages, and retains members. Rising to an Assistant Chief position over 14 years with a pay -per -call combination department, transitioning to duty -crew staffing/scheduling model, a new fire chief, and the addition of full-time staffing has taught me many things that parallel the issues now faced by your fire department. I believe the fire department can benefit from my experiences as an EMT - Basic, EMT -Paramedic, firefighter, engineer, fire officer, fire investigator, fire inspector, quartermaster, and chief officer with the White Bear Lake Fire Department. I have commanded fire ground operations, EMS, and extrication calls. I have investigated fires for over ten years and trained many department members to assist in investigations and scene preservation. I have ordered and outfitted recruits with turnout gear and created equipment tracking programs as the quartermaster. I have trained departments, firefighters, and EMS providers throughout my entire career. I have been apart of projects that develop specifications for new fire engines/equipment and have conducted, scheduled, and tracked station/equipment maintenance. I believe embracing and enabling the power of the "team" will always exceed what we might achieve alone, and I have witnessed the organizational gains of listening to those closest to the physical work. I will continue to utilize this system of management and leadership as your Fire Chief. I have almost 12 years of experience as a paramedic; many years were providing ALS ambulance services to the City of Hugo. I was a paramedic and Captain when Hugo transitioned to a new ambulance service, and I understand and appreciate the events that lead to that transition. I believe this experience and the knowledge I gained benefit the citizens moving forward, as I know and appreciate the need to ensure the citizens are always protected. I spent five years as a full-time Critical Care Paramedic with HealthEast Medical Transportation (HEMT). Over three years at HEMT, I organized approximately 100 EMT's and Paramedics into a collective bargaining unit. This process was extensive, requiring the organization of many informational meetings, moderating debates, managing misinformation, and ultimately required me to testify before the Minnesota Labor Relations Board. If I can unify a large group with such