From KFYR TV
By Kyona Rivera
2:38 PST, December 18, 2024
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – The Minot Fire Department is eyeing changes and additions to its staffing pattern in the next five to six years.
The Minot City Council approved the department to apply for a grant to expand its staff.
This week, fire chief Kelli Kronschnabel brought a proposal before the council to hire six new personnel over the years.
The department is looking to apply for the ‘SAFER’ grant, a three-year funding program that will cost zero dollars to the city.
Their proposed plan is based on recommendations from the Center for Public Safety Management to meet staffing and operational requirements.
The chief said they first want to hire a deputy chief, adding this will eliminate one battalion chief.
She said right now, the battalion chief also does grant management and procurement.
She said they want to change the current admin assistant’s title to specifically a position of financial expertise when that assistant retires next year.
“Gear is very expensive. Their uniforms, medicals, physicals, as well as the EMT training, that would be about $100,000 cost. So that would put the two trucks, one at Station 4 and one at Station 5 up to four-person staffing,” said Kronschnabel.
By 2026, the department plans to hire a fire marshal, as one is retiring by the end of next year.
In 2027, they’d want to have a field incident technician and a battalion chief aid.
She said in the next few years, many of their leadership will retire, including herself, so this will allow them to promote more captains and hire three more firefighters.
When we had a lot of turnovers, we had to flatten the organization in both areas of battalion chiefs as well as that office because we just didn’t have the people to fill those positions, so we’ll be bringing those back. The additional firefighters would bring the ladders to four-person engine companies, or ladder companies,” said Kronschnabel.
Kronschnabel said she estimates the operational costs will round up to $1.5 million over the years.
These changes will bring them to a full staff of 27.
She also added that they plan to move their headquarters down south as they’ve seen an increase in call volume in that area.
The motion passed unanimously.