Moorhead

Fire Dept

111 12th St N

Moorhead MN  56560

(218) 299-5432

Hewitt Steps In As New Fire Chief

By Mike Schoemer

October 25th, 2004

Moorhead Pride 2004 - A Midweek Publication

Visit their web site at www.midweekonline.com

The Moorhead Fire Department has just begun a new chapter in the city's illustrious history, as Roseville-native and former fire chief Joel Hewitt has moved north and stepped in as the department's newest leader.

Hewitt replaces longtime Moorhead fireman Marty Soeth, who served for more than a decade as assistant chief and finished his career as the main man in the department after 40 total years of service.

Hewitt, who worked for six years as a carpenter, got involved in emergency services and firefighting when he was an insurance agent for 16 years in the Twin Cities area. He volunteered for the Roseville Fire Department, and decided to go through the academy. Eventually, Hewitt worked his way through the ranks, and was volunteer chief for seven years.

The Moorhead City Council approved Hewitt in March of 2004, and the new chief started his position in July of this year. He still is tied to his old hometown of Roseville, however. His daughter, 17, is completing her senior year of high school down there. To do that, Hewitt kept the house that is just within earshot of the house he grew up in, and commutes back to the area each weekend when his shift is done. He will move to Moorhead and build a home here once she heads off to college in 2005.

Upon taking his job in Moorhead, Hewitt said he was excited to learn more about the community. He's expecting the city to continue to sprawl under his watch, and that means adapting to the challenges of protecting a growing community. He thinks he has the right crew to do that.

"I like the dedication and the core values that you find in the firefighters here," Hewitt said. "The city manager (Scott Hutchins) is devoted to the community and wants us to do the right thing. I think he's someone who is ready to challenge me professionally. He has the same vision that I do, encouraging the growth and maintaining the strength of the city services we provide while that growth happens."

Hewitt said he feels fortunate to come into the community as it makes many changes for the better. Downtown renovation is making Moorhead more inviting closer to the river. And the school district's new alignment is creating new developments on the south and east side, as Moorhead experiences the housing boom that its neighbors to the west have enjoyed for the past few years.

In a growing community, the role of the fire department always expands far beyond knocking down fires and saving cats from trees. The 27 firefighters, fire marshal, assistant chief and chief are in charge of covering everything from hazardous materials to rescuing accident victims.

"The majority of our calls, like any department's today, is emergency medical services and first response," Hewitt said. "That's typical around the country. If you don't have a department that can do that, then you're not up to speed. Our firefighters are also haz-mat (hazardous material) technicians for much of the northeastern part of the state. We're one of four emergency response teams in the state for haz-mat, so we cover 22 counties. We do confined space and angle rescue, vehicle rescue, river rescue and more. Pretty much anything that can go wrong, the fire department will get the call."

For that reason, training is very important. Firefighters are trained on a regular basis in handling those hazardous materials, vehicle rescue and much more. They must be prepared to handle the unexpected. And since 9/11, that also means helping on terrorism response teams.

Moorhead currently operates two stations, a main station on First Avenue North and 12th Street, just northeast of downtown, and a substation on 20th Street down by Minnesota State Community and Technical College. Together, the two stations are in prime position to handle growth. The challenge for Hewitt is staffing those two stations.

"We're not quite where we'd like to be," Hewitt said. "We have three people on duty at the south station, and we would like four. And if there were a large structural fire, it would definitely tax our resources right now. So what we're trying to do is work up a plan for the future."

Indeed, Hewitt and the city's leaders are discussing expanding the Moorhead Fire Department. Hewitt said the south substation would operate best with four firefighters on duty. However, that would mean increasing the staff by three members, since the department runs its crew in shifts of three.

Through this strategic planning phase, Hewitt plans to have the community involved and aware of the discussion. Hewitt said the city might send out surveys, asking residents what they think about the current state of city services, and if they would like to see changes. He also wants residents to be heard at meetings.

"Down the road, you might need a third station. Whatever the equation is, you want people involved," Hewitt said. "I think it's important to get that feedback. What do they expect when they call 911? Do they want us to be aggressive? And with the answers, we can tell them that here's what the cost would be for that kind of service."

For more information on the Moorhead Fire Department, contact them at (218) 299-5540. Residents can also visit their link on the city's Web site, www.cityofmoorhead.com.

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Last modified: August 02, 2007