Quicker Response By Shakopee Fire Department

Press release from the City of Shakopee:

September 5, 2020

Shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, July 3, the Shakopee Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire under the carport at McDonald’s on Marschall Road. In less than five minutes, firefighters were on scene extinguishing the van's engine fire.

The department’s quick response likely saved the building from a holiday weekend loss.

“We were able to get on scene quickly because we had firefighters at the station ready to go as soon as the call came in,” said Fire Chief Rick Coleman. “A few minutes can make the difference between saving and losing a life or property.”

This spring, the fire department adopted a temporary 24/7 staffing model to provide the department better staffing predictability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Typically, the Shakopee Fire Department relies on a full-time weekday duty crew and a staff of paid-on-call firefighters, who respond to evening, weekend and holiday calls.

With the pandemic’s requirements for sanitation and tracking employees, the department switched to an around-the-clock model that asked paid-on-call firefighters to take overnight shifts and weekends to ensure the city had full-time staffing.

The benefit for residents and businesses has been a faster response time, especially to evening and weekend calls. Currently, firefighters are en route in about one and half minutes, down from an average of six minutes pre-pandemic.

In mid-July, the department responded to a Saturday evening call for a grill propane tank on fire next to a townhome. Firefighters were on scene before the fire could burn into the house, resulting in just exterior damage.

With more than 60 percent of Shakopee firefighters trained as emergency medical technicians, the quicker response also adds value to medical, rescue and accident calls.

While the duty crew model is temporary, funded by the city’s share of the CARES Act, the City Council discussed use of the model full-time at its Aug. 5 meeting. Moving to the model permanently is estimated to cost an additional $266,000 a year. The council directed staff to bring back more information at a future meeting.

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Hometown Messenger.

This press release was produced by the City of Shakopee. The views expressed here are the author’s own.