May 2023

Fire Department Updates

Chief’s Message

The Fire Department takes great pride in our responsibility to perform the fire and life safety and licensing inspections in all multi-family buildings of five or more units in Roseville. This is a large project that involves a lot of moving parts with more than 175 total buildings and nearly 6000 total living units.

Fire safety in multi-family buildings is paramount. In the State of Minnesota, more than 35% of structure fires occur in multi-family housing units. When considering renting an apartment, check if the building has a fire sprinkler system. A sprinkler system can be a life-saving amenity built into the building. It is important to create and practice two exit plans from your apartment unit so you have options depending on where the fire is located in the building.

In your building, if the fire alarm sounds you need to take action. Open the door to the hallway slightly to check for smoke. If there is no smoke, move to the exit, avoid the elevator. If you open the door and there is smoke, close the door, call 911 and move to the furthest window and turn on the light. Finally, if there is a fire in your unit, leave immediately and close the door behind you. Pull the fire alarm in the hallway if there is one present. Call 911 when you are outside the building.

May Community Education

Community Hands Only CPR

Our hands-only CPR program continued in May with several Roseville community members learning the life saving skill of hands-only CPR! Stay tuned for additional Hands-Only CPR dates!!

Fridays with Firefighters

Another quick reminder of our upcoming Friday’s with Firefighters this summer. Everyone gets so busy in the spring and summer, I want to make sure these make your family calendar! Always from 10AM-Noon:

Friday, June 23
Friday, July 21
Friday, August 18

Fire Department Recognition

In May we held our annual department recognition event. We were able to come together as a whole department and highlight some of the great work our firefighters have done over the past year. We are honored to have such a dedicated, hard working team. Here is a list of awards that our firefighters received:

Unit Citation for exceptional work in the department - Firefighter/Fire Inspector Chris DuBay
Unit Citation for Explorer Advisors - Lieutenant Dan Concha, Battalion Chief Ted Larson, Battalion Chief Josh Waylander, Firefighter Chris DuBay, Firefighter Kristi Sjostrom, Firefighter Adam Sabotta, Firefighter Adam Yborra, Firefighter Reilly Keenan
Unit Citation for leading Hands Only CPR Program - Firefighter Kristi Sjostrom
Unit Citation for ALS Implementation - Lieutenant Cody Thornberg, Firefighter Chris Rice, Battalion Chief Josh Waylander, Firefighter Daniel Hong, Firefighter Mike Wallace, Firefighter Zach Rickman, Lieutenant Kevin Priester
Unit Citation for RMS workgroup - Battalion Chief Ted Larson, Lieutenant Cody Thornberg, Firefighter Chris DuBay, Firefighter Jeremy Schmitz, Firefighter Mike Wallace
Letter of Commendation for Licensure management - Battalion Chief Josh Waylander
Life Saving Award for a drowning incident - Assistant Chief Neil Sjostrom, Battalion Chief Israel Diaz, Lieutenant Kevin Priester, Firefighter Mike Wallace, Firefighter Adam Sabotta, Firefighter Karl Strohmeier, Firefighter Reilly Kennan, Firefighter Dan O'Neill, Fire Cadet Ella DeVine

May Notable Events

Arden Hills Garage Fire

Roseville firefighters assisted the Lake Johanna Fire Department on May 4th with a detached garage fire that was rapidly spreading to the adjoining homes. Roseville crews arrived simultaneously with the LJFD crews and began a quick fire attack. While the two homes near the garage suffered some siding damage, the quick works of firefighters saved the homes from any substantial damage.

Lake McCarrons Search

On May 14th the Fire Department was requested to McCarrons Beach to assist in searching the water for a possible 9 year old girl who had gone missing. RFD responded along with St. Paul Fire (and eventually White Bear Like Fire) and worked cooperatively with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and Roseville Police to begin search efforts throughout the entire park as well as in and on the waters of Lake McCarrons. Crews worked for nearly 3 hours searching upon which time on-scene crews were notified via a 911 caller that the juvenile had been located at her home safe!

Car Fire

Firefighters responded to an early morning Car Fire at a Roseville apartment building. Upon arrival crews found a vehicle parked in the parking lot with a heavy volume of fire coming from the engine compartment. Quick actions by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to several nearby vehicles.

Shoreview Burger King Fire

On May 31st Firefighters responded to the Burger King on Rice Street in Shoreview to assist the Lake Johanna Fire Department with a commercial building fire. Upon arrival crews encounter fire coming from the exterior wall of the building and spreading into the roof space. Quick action by the LJFD and Roseville crews contained the initial fire while additional resources from Vadnais Heights, Little Canada, and Maplewood Fire worked to continue the fire extinguishment efforts. Due to the hot weather conditions firefighters were faced with challenging conditions requiring additional resources to complete the firefighting tasks.

Duck Rescues

May has proven to be a very busy month for duck rescues. Every year during the spring we receive numerous calls for ducklings who have fallen into sewer drains and are in need of rescuing. This year was no different then years past and we have responded to nearly a dozen of these calls this year, we are happy to say that we have rescued all ducks that we have been called for this year! On a serious note, we did have to rescue a Roseville Resident who had fallen into a sewer drain while attempting to rescue ducklings on their own. While the resident suffered only minor injuries, this incident could have had a very different outcome, we want to remind everyone that your Fire Department will always make an attempt to rescue animals who are in need of assistance, this may include dogs on ice, ducks in sewer drains, cats in trees, etc. Rather than attempt a rescue on your own please call 911 so we can assist.

May Training

This last month we were lucky to experience warmer temperatures and welcome spring!! As everyone began cleaning up their yards, planting gardens and soaking up some sun, the Fire Department was excited to get back outside to do some training. On the Fire side of things we worked on one of our fire extinguishing hose packages. We worked with our 1 3/4" hoselines. These packages are pre-connected to the fire engine which allows rapid deployment and fast water on the fire. We also spent some time utilizing our portable ground ladders. Our ladders allow the firefighters to gain access to hard to reach sections of houses, rescue victims who are unable to self rescue from a building and many other uses.

On our Medical side of the department we welcomed trainers from Regions EMS to provide instruction on Pediatric Cardiac Arrest and Case Review. Pediatric calls can be a stressful and challenging experience. The instruction from Regions EMS give our members experience and information to best treat our pediatric patients. We also spent some time reviewing previous calls. This opportunity is used for learning and making each member a better caregiver to our patients. We are looking at treatments, medications, pt outcomes from hospital and areas for future trainings.

May Department Statistics

Fire and Hazardous Condition Calls – 25
Rescue and Emergency Medical Service Calls – 452
Service Calls – 23
Good Intent Calls – 65
False Alarm Calls – 44
Total Calls – 609

Mark your Calendars!

Fridays with Firefighters - 10:00 am to noon
- June 23rd (Rose Fest!)

- July 21st

- August 18th