Firefighting from the Minnesotan sky

VIDEO: What may seem like a daredevil stunt is just another day’s work for the men and women fighting fires from helicopters. Fly to fire, pick up water, drop water on fire, rinse, repeat. It’s a straightforward process but it takes a village to make it happen and it all starts with a bucket. “So this bucket for this machine is a hundred and forty-four gallons.” Suspended under the helicopter, the specially designed bucket is extensively tested before its taken to the skies. “So he’s hooking up the electrical and we’re gonna test to see if, first we’re doing the hook checks, we’re seeing if, in an emergency if the pilot does need to ditch the bucket, he can get rid of the bucket. And now we’re testing to see whether if the bucket is going to release water. That all worked good, now he’s gonna go ahead and hook the bucket up.”
KEYC-TV CBS/FOX 12 Mankato

Plymouth Fire Chief Discusses Open Burn For Corteva

Plymouth Fire Chief Steve Holm discussed a letter he recently received from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) with the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety this week. The letter was a “burn permit” for Corteva, formerly Pioneer Seed at the intersection of U.S. 30 and Pioneer Drive. Corteva has a wetland area along U.S. 30 and to the east of their buildings all the way to the railroad crossing. Fire Chief Holm said every few years they conduct a controlled open burn of the area and it creates quite a scene with all the smoke. The IDEM permit is good for one year and Corteva said they hope to complete the burn in the next couple of weeks if the weather is favorable. If they can’t get it accomplished then, they will wait until early next spring.
WTCA-AM 1050/FM-106.1 Plymouth

Meet Bloomington firefighter Ryan Simonis

PHOTO: Ryan Simonis began as a paid-on-call firefighter in September 2021 with the Bloomington Fire Department and was hired as a full time firefighter in April 2023. Through the BFD, Simonis has earned nearly 20 certificates including ones in hazardous material operations, fire apparatus operator, trench rescue technician and ice water rescue. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in criminal justice. He’s completed all but the dissertation for a PhD in public policy and is currently working on a Paramedic Fire Science degree. Prior to his service here, Simonis was a Marine for 24 years, a police officer and federal law enforcement officer. “I love learning and being part of a team, and I enjoy the constant pace of training and operations,” Simonis said of his newest career.
City of Bloomington

Morton Fire Department hosts blood drive to honor former firefighter

VIDEO: Charles “Chuck” Robinson served the Morton Fire Department for more than 40 years. Robinson passed away from a heart attack at the end of 2021, and now his family and the entire Morton community honors his service with an annual April blood drive supporting the American Red Cross. “We kind of picked April because that’s his birth date, he was born in April so we picked that date and it was kind of a reason to kind of get people’s attention for the fire department in support and stuff like that and to get blood for the Red Cross,” said Fire Chief Tony Mages. Thursday will be the second year of the blood drive honoring Robinson, and the inaugural year maxed out their donation time slots. Service for the fire department runs in the family, as Robinson’s brothers and nephews currently serve the department, and his great-great-grandfather was Morton’s first fire chief in the late 1800s.
KEYC-TV CBS/FOX/NBC/CW+ 12 Mankato

No Injuries in St. Cloud House Fire

No one was injured in a house fire early Wednesday morning. The St. Cloud Fire Department says they responded to a house fire on the 200 block of 14th Avenue North at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday. Smoke and fire were coming from the home, but everyone was out by the time the firefighters arrived. The fire was limited to the first floor, primarily in the kitchen, and was quickly put out. The homeowner was helped by the Red Cross. While the fire is still under investigation, firefighters say that properly working smoke alarms gave the residents enough time to safely escape the home without being hurt.
KRFO-AM 1390 Owatonna