With money donated by the St.
Stephen American Legion Post, a 1991 Ford car was purchased from the Stearns
County Sheriff's Department for use in transporting extra men to calls and also
for other Department business, such as travel to out of town meetings, etc.
This vehicle was replaced in 2002 with a Chevrolet 4x4
Crew Cab.
In 1995, a Polaris six-wheel-drive
ATV was purchased and fitted with a high-pressure pump and water tank. This unit
is also used for fighting grass and brush fires.
In 1996, a new complete set of
Lucas rescue equipment, which includes cutters and spreaders, used primarily in
rescue of persons trapped in autos after an accident, was purchased. This
replaced the H. K. Porter equipment.
The Toyota Rescue truck having become too
small for all the equipment in needed to carry, in late 1996, a new 1997
Chevrolet 1-ton Rescue truck was purchased and outfitted with all the rescue
equipment, and the Toyota is now used to tow the trailer carrying the Polaris
ATV
The original Fire Department dance was revived with the Fire Department "Steak Fry" which occurs on the first Friday after Easter. This event serves as both a community relations event and fund raiser for the Fire Department.
The newest piece of equipment purchased
was, a hand-held thermal imaging device. This is a camera like device which
enables the firefighters to see through dense smoke or darkness in order to
detect fires and hot spots, helping in search and rescue, detecting hear from
any source, including a person. The unit was purchased with fund from a
fundraiser, donated by local businesses, individuals and organizations.
Also in 1998 St. Stephen Fire & Rescue
registered the domain name ssfd.org
Late
in 2000, St. Stephen Fire & Rescue began to be served by a helicopter for
some of the more serious accidents and injuries. The helicopter is
provided by LifeLink and is stationed at the St. Cloud airport. The helicopter
is automatically dispatched for certain types of calls. If a patient suffers
injuries which are serious enough they will go by helicopter to the hospital, in
some cases directly to a hospital in Minneapolis.
In 2001 we purchased a snowmobile so that we would be able to rescue anyone that may get injured on one of the many snowmobile trails in and around the city. The Saint Stephen American Legion donated the money to purchase a rescue sled to pull behind the snowmobile. We would like to thank the American Legion for their donation.
The fire department is also adding laptop computers to our trucks in order to take
advantage of satellite technology. When
completed our trucks will have a map of the city and surrounding townships on a
computer. This will allow us to
find addresses easier, especially addresses outside the city.
The way the system will work is when a call comes into the 911 system,
the dispatcher will be able to send the address directly to the truck’s
computer. The location of the call
will be displayed on the map with an arrow along with the current location of
the fire or rescue truck. As the
vehicle drives towards the address, the vehicle’s current location will move
on the map. This is all
accomplished by receiving a signal from the global
positioning system (GPS) satellites orbiting the earth.
These signals allow the vehicles to determine their exact location. Saint
Stephen Fire & Rescue will be the first fire department in Stearns County to
have a system like this. The cost of the system will be around $25,000.00 -
$30,000 and we have already received donations for $15,0000.00. The mapping
system is provided by a company in St. Cloud called GeoComm.
You can read more about the GPS
mapping by going to http://www.geo-comm.com
(http://www.geo-comm.com/content/dispatch/dispatchmain.html#software)
The Toyota Rescue truck has now be repurposed as a grass fighting truck. The truck now carries a tank and foam to fight grass and brush fires.
In 2002 Saint Stephen Fire and Rescue received a grant for $23,508.00 through the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The grant allowed the fire department to replace the worn out and outdated turnout gear with new gear that complies with the current NFPA and OSHA standards.
The 1991 Ford car was replaced with a 2002 Chevrolet 2500HD Crew Cab 4X4.
Saint Stephen Fire and Rescue received a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. This grant allowed the fire department to purchase 26 Scott Air-Pak NxG2 SCBA for each member of the department. The SCBAs are high pressure with 45 minute tanks. The grant also allowed the department to replace the old cascade air fill station with a Bauer air compressor.
Interoperability became the goal of Emergency providers throughout the country. 800 MHz radio systems were chosen by the Federal Government as a response to 9-11 communication problems the occurred in New York. All Emergency providers are eventually going to be required to adapt the 800 MHz radio system. To this end Saint Stephen Fire and Rescue received a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program to purchase 7 mobile, 11 portable and 2 base 800 MHz radios.
The old pumper/tanker #5 was replaced with a new Custom Fire pumper/tanker. This pumper carries 3,000 gallons of water. The current front line pumper will operate in a reserved capacity. Unit #5 was sold to Bill Wasner Sales where it was parted. The engine reportedly lasted 300 miles before experiencing a catastrophic failure.
After 44 years of service our second fire chief Ray Trobec retires.
It is readily apparent that the Department
had kept up-to-date in acquiring the lasted available equipment and training to
continually improve the capability in its purpose of firefighting and rescue.
At the present time, it can be safely stated that the level and quality of the
firefighting and rescue equipment and the capability of the members of the St.
Stephen Fire and Rescue Department are second to none.
This history was compiled from information
gathered from personal memories of past and present members of the Department,
as well as written records, some of which are not a complete as may be desired.
Therefore, the writer apologies for any possible omissions or inaccuracies in
this written history.
