Local Fire Chief Addresses Risks From Intentional Fire Attacks
ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- There have been a couple of recent high-profile incidents lately where a suspect is accused of intentionally setting a fire so they could ambush first responders.
A June 30th wildfire incident in Idaho left two firefighters dead and another hurt.
The July 15th incident in St. Louis County near Duluth didn't hurt any responders, but the suspect set several homemade devices designed to fire projectiles at them.
St. Cloud Fire Chief Matt Love says his department responds to well over 10,000 calls a year, and it is difficult to put protections in place because they cost time.
The fire department's goal is to be on the scene within four minutes. But, he says, just this year they have installed a new computer-aided dispatch system.
As soon as the computer has enough information, then it decides where the call goes, who goes, how many resources, things like that. We have purposely built into that system call types that send police with fire, or even send police ahead of fire and fire holds back, to make sure a scene is safe.
Love says as for wearing protective gear like protective vests isn't really an option when responding to incidents like wildfires or building fires.
It does not make sense for them to wear that 24/7 on every call, or they would not be able to perform to rescue a victim properly. We do not use them in St. Cloud.
Love says his department works incredibly closely with the police department, Stearns County Sheriff's Office, and the State Patrol. He says another critical element is the dispatch center.
Quite honestly, they are one of the first lines of defense. They are receiving 911 call information and they, through their tremendous experience, can dissect a situation to know if something sounds off or if something is different.
Love says first responders also depend on the community to relay information to the dispatch center, who then communicate with police and fire so they know what they are walking into on the scene.
He says while firefighters didn't necessarily sign up for some of the situations they encounter, they know it's all part of public service.
What we did raise our right hand to do is to protect the community and to protect quality of life. That's not just fires, not just medical calls; it's preventing bad things from happening.
Love says his department does go through federally required situational awareness training.
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