2023 Annual Report - Lake Elmo Fire Department

Annual Report

Table of Contents

- Message from the Fire Chief

- Introduction

- History

- Administration

- Operations

- Training

- Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement

- Community Education

- Personnel Recognitions

- Key Accomplishments - 2023

- Strategic Plan - 2024

A

message from the Fire Chief, Dustin Kalis

“The Lake Elmo Fire Department is proud to serve the neighbors and friends that make up our great city. Our community is rapidly changing, as Lake Elmo is the fastest growing city in Minnesota! 2023 was a year full of milestones for our department: new central fire station, an updated staffing model on duty 24/7 utilizing both career and paid-on-call staff, and delivery of a new engine.

With all these rapid changes, your fire department remains committed to making sure that the service you deserve is the service you get. We would not be able to make this possible without the support of the community, our city council, and city administration. I appreciate the commitment that the citizens of Lake Elmo instill in public safety.

I hope that you will once again find the information in this year’s annual report informative. We strive to provide clear and accurate data that allows us to structure our service and operations now and into the future.

Thank you!”

Introduction and Purpose

The City of Lake Elmo, Minnesota is a second ring/emerging suburb of Saint Paul. The Fire Department was established in 1957 and currently serves a population (2023) of approximately 13,500 residents. Services provided by the Fire Department include Fire Suppression, Rescue, Emergency Medical Services, Code Enforcement, Community Education and Risk Reduction.

The intent of this document is to provide clear and accurate data pertaining to the functions of the Lake Elmo Fire Department. Its primary audience is the residents of the City of Lake Elmo, its City Council, and all those interested in learning about our operations.

This document includes information related to emergency responses, staffing, training, department fleet, and other critical data that Fire Department staff utilize on a regular basis to determine the effectiveness of your Fire Department. All information included herein is considered public data and, in accordance with the request of the City Council, some of which is reported on a quarterly basis. This information is subsequently reported to the State of Minnesota Performance Measurement Program. The period in which data was collected for this document is: 01/01/2023 through 12/31/2023.

Information as presented to the City Council in the Quarterly Report.

Logo and Branding Update

In late 2022, with anticipation of moving towards the central fire station model, Chief Kalis entertained the idea of updating the fire department logo and branding material. Historically, within the department, logo changes were accompanied by new chiefs or major events. For example, prior to 2023, the fire department logo was last updated for the department’s 50-year anniversary in 2007.

The move to the new central station signified an end to an era of service that our fire department is very proud of. Under one roof, with a new staffing plan in place, it was decided to update our brand to reflect the changes our department has undertaken in the past few years and the accomplishments we have made along the way.

At our December holiday party, the members of the Lake Elmo Fire Department voted on several options, ultimately deciding on the logo and branding scheme that was formally adopted February 1, 2023.

The traditional Maltese and graphic are used together to represent our department. The Maltese logo serves as our official patch and is used for uniforms. Both graphics will appear on vehicles.

History of the Lake Elmo Fire Department

The Lake Elmo Fire Department was established in March 1957 by a group of community activists who realized the necessity for the village to have its own fire protection. A volunteer fire department was established, and a fire station was built downtown. The need became furthermore apparent as the siren blew and calls for service steadily increased. In the years that followed many changes impacted the fire department including the addition of medical and rescue calls.

History Highlights

• 1957 - 38 volunteers establish the fire department; Ed Kramer is named Fire Chief.

• 1981 - The department purchases its first Ladder truck, a 50ft tele squirt boom.

• 1986 - The department opens Station 2 on Jamaca Avenue North.

• 1990 – Dick Sachs is appointed Fire Chief and would serve a total of 43 years with the department.

• 2000 - Greg Malmquist is appointed as the first full-time Fire Chief.

• 2006 - The department moves Station 2 to the Public Works site, further North on Jamaca.

• 2007 – The department celebrated its 50-year anniversary.

• 2015 – The department replaced its 1981 Ladder truck after 34+ years of service.

• 2020 - Dustin Kalis is appointed as the second full-time Fire Chief.

• 2023 - The original 1957 Station 1 and Station 2 are closed, the Central Fire Station is opened.

• 2023 - The staffing model is updated to include 24/7 career firefighters on duty.

Administration and Organization

Support Staff

1 Chaplain

The fire department is administered by a career Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief, who are responsible for day-to-day operations. The remaining command staff consists of two paid on call Captains and one paid on call Lieutenant.

The department operates using a combination model of career and paid on call staff. In 2023, the department transitioned to a fully staffed model, meaning that, career and paid on call staff are on duty all the time.

Paid on call staff work scheduled shifts and supplement the career schedule working as a crew member and filling open shifts.

Lieutenant

3 Engineers – Paid on Call

23 Firefighters – Paid on Call

In total, the department roster consists of 34 uniformed personnel (8 career, 27 paid on call, 1 support) and 1 civilian Chaplain.

Red Shift

2 Firefighters - Career

Gold Shift

2 Firefighters - Career Black Shift

2 Firefighters - Career

1

Dustin Kalis Fire Chief

Assistant Fire Chief / Fire Marshal

1,047

Calls for service in 2023 represent a 32.3% increase in call volume compared to the year prior. Annually, the department has seen an 15.5% average call volume increase for the last six years.

Operations – Emergency Response Overall

The “heat map” is a great tool that helps your fire department gauge the areas of the city where incidents are most likely to happen. This map shows all incident locations in our city and their frequency. Red boundaries indicate a high volume of incidents. Some emerging neighborhoods are shown in yellow and orange.

Points of Interest:

These points of interest in our city highlight our response profile and the variety of incidents and locations throughout the jurisdiction.

A: Highway 36 and Lake Elmo Avenue North – 67 incidents

B: “Old Village” (Downtown, Arbor Glen, Fields) – 249 incidents

C: Cimarron / Oak-Land Middle School– 154 incidents

D: Park Reserve (Trails, Boat Launch, Camps) – 25 incidents

E: Hudson Boulevard (The Springs, Boulder Ponds, High Point Surgery, HealthPartners, Holiday Inn) – 287 incidents

F: Hidden Bay/Tri Lakes Area – 114 incidents

Operations – Fire Suppression

Overall, the fire department’s response to “fires” remains relatively low, compared to other incident types across the city. Fire incidents include structure fires, vehicle fires, brush fires, chimney fires, and all situations where suppression equipment is used. In 2023, the fire department responded to 47 fires and 1 explosion.

Operations – Rescue

Within the profile of the city, a network of state and county highways increases the risk of vehicle accidents. Vehicle accidents, as well as other special and technical rescues, make up the Rescue response profile of our overall response totals.

Operations

Emergency Medical

In 2023, 62% of the incident responses made by the fire department were medical in nature. All fire department staff are minimally certified as Emergency Medical Responders. All career staff are certified to the Emergency Medical Technical level. The fire department provides Basic Life Support care.

The fire department transitioned to a full medical response profile in September 2023. Previously, the department only responded to life threatening medical situations. In partnership with Lakeview Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (our Paramedic Ambulance provider) the decision was made that in the interest of public safety, the fire department was to respond to all medical emergency calls in Lake Elmo. This, of course, aligned with our 24/7 staffing plan.

In 2023, the fire department responded to 652 of the total 756 medical incidents in Lake Elmo.

Operations – Emergency Medical Services

Paramedic Ambulance and Advanced Life Support transport is provided by Lakeview Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Lakeview EMS supports ambulances with two paramedics and provides service to the City of Lake Elmo for all medical emergency calls for service. Ambulances are dispatched by a separate service after emergency calls are received at the 911 center. After dispatch, the ambulance responds into Lake Elmo from one of its three bases. A Lakeview EMS Ambulance is not stationed in Lake Elmo.

Depending on the location of the ambulance, the fire department often arrives at the scene of a medical emergency before the paramedics. In 2023, the fire department arrived at the scene of a medical emergency 542 times before the ambulance of the 652 total medical calls. This is an 83% pre-ambulance arrival rate.

Operations – Response Times and Figures

In 2023, approximately 82.7 of every 1,000 people in Lake Elmo dialed 911 in need of the fire department. Of the 1,047 calls for service, the average time that a call was dispatched to the fire department until the first unit was en route was 1.40 minutes. This average number is a direct reflection of the staffing model in which staff are ready to respond immediately in the station, rather than having to respond from home first.

A critical factor in our response which cannot be changed is the time from en route to the arrival of the first apparatus to the dispatched address. Travel time reflects the drivability of our city and the time it takes to go from Point A to Point B. The City of Lake Elmo and our response area spans 25 square miles.

The average travel time to an incident was 7.97 minutes in 2023.

Operations – Aid Given and Received

Your fire department plays a critical role in supporting neighboring agencies. In return, the same support is received when requested. Mainly, aid is given and received for larger scale incidents, such as structure fires.

Lake Elmo has automatic aid agreements with neighboring fire departments for structure fires and vehicle accidents along Highway 36 (Stillwater).

The fire department utilized aid agreements 72 times in 2023. Of those 72 times, 33 were for instances of aid requested in Lake Elmo and 39 were for aid given outside of the city. Nearly a 50/50 partnership.

Aid Given to Department - 2023

Stillwater Woodbury Oakdale

Given 46%

Aid Given vs Received - 2023

Received Given

Received 54%

Lower St. Croix Valley

Operations – Equipment and Fleet

The fire department maintains a fleet of emergency vehicles which have served the department for various lengths of time. The fire departments fleet consists of:

In 2023, the fire department continued to implement the vehicle replacement process. As noted, the department was pleased to in service several new vehicles. Specifically, the replacement for Engine 1 was delivered in the fall which replaced a 20+ year old apparatus that served the community very well for many years. Additionally, several new support apparatuses were placed in service. All these vehicles have seen action since being acquired, including the boat.

The fire department continuously evaluates the reliability of our equipment. In 2023 key purchases made it possible to upgrade our fire hose nozzles, acquire battery powered extrication equipment, purchase additional sets of turnout gear, and many other tools and equipment.

Age of Fleet - 2023

Engine 1

*NEW*

Ladder 1 6 years of service

Rescue 1 5 years of service

Rescue 2 7 years of service

Tender 1 3 years of service

Tender 2 16 years of service

Brush 1

*NEW*

Brush 2 19 years of service

UTV 14 years of service

Chief 1 Tahoe 2 years of service

Chief 2 Durango

Boat

*NEW*

*NEW*

Training

Lake Elmo Firefighters participate in regularly scheduled training events, typically on Monday evenings.

Training topics are based on the Minnesota Board of Fire Training and Education standards. All firefighters, regardless of career or paid on call, are held to the same standards.

417

2863

70 Training Hours Personnel Hours Scheduled Drills

Within the scope of training, your fire department participated in quarterly Emergency Medical certification training. These classes are supported in house by two Regions Hospital EMS Education certified fire department staff.

Additionally, we sent five new recruits to the Ramsey County Fire Academy. These recruits were successful in completing all the necessary training and certifications to become licensed firefighters.

Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement

The purpose of the fire prevention program is to promote fire safety, provide education, and (when necessary) enforce codes and ordinances. Since the inception of the inspections program in 2021, the fire department has continued to maintain our records system to accurately represent the building and business profile of the city, inspect all commercial occupancies, and regulates established guidelines for ongoing growth in the city.

The fire department also spends a considerable amount of time reviewing construction plans for new developments and buildings. Taking time ahead of the project to review the process reduces the potential for problem areas in the future. Specifically, the department focuses on access, sprinkler/alarm systems, hydrant placement, addressing, and layout.

Community Education

The fire department participated in several community education events in 2023. Most notably, is the National Night Out event, hosted downtown Lake Elmo. Equally important is our annual speaking engagement with Lake Elmo Elementary students for Fire Prevention Week.

Personnel Recognition – Years of Service Awards

The Lake Elmo Fire Department is proud to recognize these individuals who achieved years of service accomplishment milestones in 2023.

Chris Klein #88 Engineer

15 Years of Service

Richard Glanzer Chaplain

10 Years of Service

Douglas Lovett #104 Lieutenant 5 Years of Service

Michael Schwarz #105 Captain 5 Years of Service

Brian Talcott #106

Firefighter/EMT

5 Years of Service

(FT)

Personnel Recognition – Appointments

Anthony Svoboda #118

Appointed to: Assistant Fire Chief Fire Marshal

Timothy Anders #132

Appointed to:

Peter Haveman #121

Appointed to:

Firefighter/EMT

William Redman #134

Appointed to:

Firefighter/EMT

Firefighter/EMT (FT)

(FT)

(FT)

Photo Credit: LEO A DALY and Tom Grady Photography

Personnel Recognition – Promotions

In July of 2023 the fire department hosted our annual employee recognition and family picnic. The department uses this event to recognize individuals who completed employment milestones, acquired significant certifications, and most importantly recognize probationary firefighters who completed their fire academy and have been promoted to regular Firefighters.

Promoted Firefighters: 2023 (Left to Right)

Adam Lembrich #129: Firefighter/EMT

Ike Allickson #128: Firefighter/EMT

Brian Chapman #126: Firefighter/EMT

Alex Weil #131: Firefighter/Paramedic

Matt Watt #130: Firefighter/EMT

Alex Beard #125: Firefighter/EMT

Key Accomplishments – 2023

The fire department is proud of the work that we have done in 2023. We were very busy making some very key accomplishments last year. Of those accomplishments, we wish to highlight the following:

• Kicked off a duty crew staffing plan which placed paid on call staff on duty, in the station.

• Held an Alumni Breakfast to recognize all those who have served before us and to signify the official closure of the original 1957 fire station.

• Placed into service four new pieces of apparatus, including Engine 1.

• Closed Station 1 and Station 2 and moved all operations and equipment to the new Central Fire Station.

• Increased predictability in our response by adding six new career Firefighter/EMTs who are scheduled on duty 24/7, 365 days a year.

• Utilized our paid-on-call staff to supplement the duty shift, backfill open positions, and respond to large scale incidents.

Strategic Plan – 2024

2023 was a big year for our organization. We were successful in our key accomplishments, but there is still plenty of planning, forward thinking, and training to be done. Looking into 2024, your fire department remains committed to serving the community in a very high capacity. Our main priority for 2024 is to maintain the level of service you deserve. To fulfill our commitment to service, we are looking forward to these upcoming goals:

• Replacement of Brush 2, a 2004 Ford F350, with a Utility type vehicle.

• Updates to our equipment maintenance system, which includes two new gear and personal protective equipment washing machines.

• Community CPR and AED classes.

• Community Fire Extinguisher training classes.

• A Fire Prevention Open House.

• Expansion of our EMS response profile to all medical incidents, for the entire year.

• Focus groups at senior housing/care facilities.

Photo Credit: LEO A DALY and Tom Grady Photography