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City Council Minutes Page 10 <br /> September 4,2018 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> Mayor Dietz also asked about the distance the fire chief should live from Elk River. <br /> Mr. Portner stated the fire chief is not a first responder. <br /> Acting Fire Chief Surratt clarified if a first responder is needed for a medical <br /> dispatch, only one person responds,which saves money. The question is what the <br /> Council wants for its fire protection services. Since Elk River does not have a full- <br /> time fire department, only three staff members are required to respond,the <br /> remainder are volunteer. <br /> Mr. Cunningham,who was in the audience, added MN Statutes state the fire chief <br /> must live within a reasonable response time. Throughout Minnesota, 20-30 minutes <br /> is a benchmark among similar organizations. The fire chief is not a first responder <br /> out the door. <br /> Mayor Dietz wanted there to be some response time requirement. He stated it <br /> should be the same as the assistant fire chief,which is 25 minutes. <br /> Mayor Dietz wants the statement regarding serving as an incident commander put <br /> back into the job description. He feels the fire chief doesn't need to go to all <br /> incidents,but they can't go to none of them. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard added the fire chief shouldn't be expected to be at every <br /> incident. However,if the chief is at the scene,they are expected to take command. <br /> Acting Fire Chief Surratt commented that was the way incident command works, the <br /> command rolls "uphill" and people take command as they arrive. This is not <br /> necessary for every incident. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard asked if there was a fear that,by taking the incident <br /> commander requirement out of the job description,the fire chief would not know it <br /> was their job to show up at a fire scene. <br /> Mayor Dietz added he doesn't want the fire chief to seem detached from his team. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard asked when the department becomes big enough that <br /> you don't need to be involved in every scene and can look at the big picture. <br /> Mayor Dietz said Elk River was not nearly big enough for that level of <br /> administration. The fire chief should interact with the firefighter volunteers and <br /> maintain good working relationships with the department. <br /> Mr. Portner said that is the reason they hired the deputy chief of operations. <br /> Councilmember Wagner did not feel she had enough experience in this area to give <br /> an educated opinion. She prefers to take feedback from people who do. <br /> POWERED 9r <br /> UREJ <br />