Fire Department Updates

Chief’s Message

This past year was a very pivotal year for the Roseville Fire Department. We continued to perform our public safety duties at a high level, as well as added new and innovative response models to better care for our community.

Our Fire Department’s community outreach continues to be one of the biggest cornerstones of our organization. While emergency response is critical, and our primary mission, the interaction, education, and outreach that we have the opportunity to do in this community is paramount to our role as the Fire Department. This past summer we were able to host multiple Friday’s With Firefighters events that brought over a thousand kids and kids at heart (adults) to our fire station. This event continues to be an incredible testament to putting a face to the firefighters so we can interact with the community in a non-emergent and positive way. We hosted our annual open house, a senior health fair, CPR classes, and dozens of tours and other events at the fire station. In addition, we have greatly enjoyed the countless invitations to come out to block parties, ribbon cuttings, Rosefest events, and other events happening around our community.

One of our most significant accomplishments of 2022 was the roll-out of our Advanced Life Support (ALS) First Response program. This program allows us to have even more advanced medications, interventions and trained personnel responding to every emergency medical call in Roseville. In an emergency every second counts. By having higher trained personnel to a patient’s side in a matter of a few minutes there will be substantial improvement to the overall healthcare of our community, will save lives, and improve hospital outcomes. This project was not as simple as flipping a switch. This took months of planning, procurement of supplies, training, and preparation before we started the program in late-August. A ton of credit goes to the firefighters and their willingness to do more for our patient on every call and to alter our normal day-to-day operation in an effort to add in this substantial service to our department capabilities.

This past year also brought about a robust boost to our annual call volume. We ended 2022 with a total of 6,650 emergency calls; a record year. This is a 6.5% percent increase over 2021, which was previously our busiest year. In total, we have experienced an 18% call volume increase in just the past two years alone. More than ever, our focus on consistent and stable full-time staffing is paying off to handle this ever expanding demand for our services. We will continue to meet the need in our community, which is my promise to you.

Advanced Life Support

We spent a significant portion of our year focusing on our ALS First Response program and getting it implemented. This level of response is literally life changing for our community and we've already seen the positive effects as we response to emergency calls.

Active Shooter Event and Training

One of the more significant emergency calls we had in 2022 was the active shooter event that occurred in April. Crews responded to a call that a police officer had been shot and was in need of medical aid. Firefighters arrived moments after dispatch and without regard for their own personal safety they provided life saving medical care to the officer.

The department also worked with Roseville Police and other area agencies for an active shooter training. These relationships and teamwork are essential for these types of calls, we were very lucky to have the opportunity for these trainings in 2022.

Fires

This past year the fire department responded to 49 building fire calls. Many were small, including burned food and small kitchen fires. There were a few substantial house fires the resulted in heavy damage. All of these resulted in 12 different fire investigations for us. The department also assisted neighboring agencies through our automatic aid and closest unit response programs multiple times throughout the year.

EMS

The majority of our call volume comes from the EMS side of things, and in 2022 that was no exception. Last year we responded to 4,854 EMS calls. These include things like slips and falls, choking, seizures, and cardiac arrest. Every moment counts in these scenarios and we do our best getting there as quickly as possible, with an average response time under 5 minutes for emergent calls.

Fire Prevention

Roseville continues to expand and so does our inspection and prevention program. In 2022 we conducted 502 inspections which include permit driven inspections as well as licensing inspections for multifamily buildings, gas stations, and hotels.

Inspectors were also out in the community providing some hands on training to businesses and groups who want to learn more about fire safety. We were able to use the electronic fire extinguisher system that Ramsey County has purchased to help workers and community members learn about extinguishers and have a chance to try them (without the mess!).

Training

Each monthly update we send out reflects on the type of training firefighters did that month. Training is a huge part of the job and our department. In 2022 we had two live burns, many special drills, EMS and ALS training, and much more. Our firefighters completed a total of over 8,700 hours of training in 2022. We will continue our monthly drills as well as daily and battalion training in the next year.

Cadet Program

We were able to hire two fire cadets for the department this year. We'll be supporting them through their fire training as they work with the daily shifts to learn more about the profession at a hands on level. You may even see Ella DeVine and Jarod Henderson out and about in the community on emergency calls!

IAFF L5051

Our firefighter union works all year helping to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. With their partnerships with Lunds and Byerlys and High Pines Brewery, IAFF L5051 was able to raise over $10,000 for the cause!

Community Events

Fridays with Firefighters was another hit in 2022 and we loved having everyone come and chat and hang out with us last summer! We'll be doing 3 different events again in 2023, so stay posted for dates!

With the pandemic winding down we were able to host another Senior Health Fair in October! It was a great success with 7 different vendors and so much valuable information to share with our community. We hope to expand it even more next year, so keep an eye out for more information!

A Special Celebration

We get invited to block parties and birthday parties all the time, but we had an extra special invite this fall when we went to a first birthday party for a baby that our firefighters helped deliver in 2021! We love being a part of these happy celebrations!

Looking Ahead to 2023

As we look to 2023 we have several goals we want to address. The first is to continue providing a high level of emergency services, as well as maintain and find ways to expand upon our community outreach. The community demands a lot from their fire department and we want to meet that demand.

We will also continue to look at new and creative ways to expand upon our ALS First Response program. This may include the addition of new equipment or medications to better assess patients or alleviate a medical issue or problem that a patient is experiencing.

One item we will have to address is how to ensure our staffing levels are meeting the call volume demand. This is not an easy step and will take a lot of discussion and feedback as we go into the future. But the current growth of call volume, if it continues its current pace, with our on-duty staffing is not sustainable long-term. We want to be able to continue to provide a high level of service to everyone that calls us for assistance.

Thank you for your continued support of the Fire Department. We had a fantastic 2022 serving our community. It is our goal to maintain a high level of service and look for ways to improve our service level year over year.