Community Cooperation Promotes Fire Training

The County of St. Paul has agreed to a 75/25 cost sharing agreement with the Elk Point fire department for 2017.  Elk Point CAO, Ken Gwozdz, says, “This funding represents the approximate call volume from 2016, with about 75% of the calls for firefighting services in the County of St Paul, and 25% in the town of Elk Point.”

Gwozdz explains, “The fire department budget this year is considerably higher in training and travel than in the past, because there are a number of new recruits in Elk Point’s department who have been traveling to Vermilion for training. Elk Point doesn’t have financial means to the cover costs.”

Deputy Fire Chief, Jon Kadutski, confirms that of 21 members, 10 are new to the job. He attributes the increase in rookies to “younger guys interested in firefighting; longer time members leaving for job reasons or retirement; and a downturn in the economy which means there are more people who can commit time to the training.”  While the immediate expense is high, Kadutski intends “to get a couple of key people trained to become actual instructors” so that eventually the training can be done on-site.

Gwozdz says that the agreement, “Represents regional cooperation at its best. Two communities working together for what’s best for the region – not the town or the county, but everyone involved.”

The County of St. Paul has entered a similar agreement with the Town of St Paul. The agreement between those two municipalities is a 50/50 split on costs for one year.