9 October 2023
HERMANTOWN As this city of more than 10,200 people continues to grow, its fire department is evolving, too. Hermantown announced in a news release Monday it has hired Zach Graves as its first full-time paid fire chief.
Graves has been a member of the Hermantown Volunteer Fire Department for 12 years and just recently retired from the 148th Fighter Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard, where he served more than 26 years, finishing his career there as fire chief and chief master sergeant at the Duluth military base.
“This is a very exciting time for us, because currently we’re a nonprofit organization that was started by three guys out of their garages,” Graves said. “They actually took out mortgages on their houses to buy the first fire apparatus. That was in 1951 actually a year before the city even became a city.”
The fire department annually receives about 1,200 calls for service, relying on a team of 20 volunteers to respond.
“It’s just too much for 20 people,” Graves said.
Under its new model, the Hermantown Fire Department will pay a small stipend to a couple members per night who agree to be scheduled on call from 5 p.m.-7 a.m. to respond to medical calls. He said all volunteers also will carry pagers that allow for a mass call, when a larger response is necessary.
Graves hopes the new model will reduce volunteer burnout and could also be useful to improve recruiting efforts. At present, any volunteer firefighters available respond to all calls in Hermantown.
“All our people work a 40-hour workweek, then they might put in another 20 to 30 hours as volunteer firefighters. We’re trying a different model, so it won’t be so time-consuming, and we’re not sending so many people when they’re not needed,’ he said.
For more than 70 years, Hermantown has relied on an all-volunteer fire department. But now it’s shifting to a hybrid model of paid and unpaid members.
“Our public safety needs are just larger than what we can expect from our volunteers,” said Hermantown Police Chief Jim Crace in a March presentation to the City Council.
Crace, who has endorsed a hybrid fire department, will now oversee both police and fire operations, as he moves into a new position as director of public safety for the city.
“We feel really good about moving our long-serving, dedicated volunteer department in this direction,” Crace said in a statement. “Many of those volunteers will still be answering the same calls with the same incredible service they always have, and we can better recruit, retain and incentivize our part-time firefighters.”
The reconfigured Hermantown Fire Department will have two full-time paid employees, as it looks to fill another position as fire inspector/training officer, as well. Information about the job is available at hermantownmn.com/careers.
“We all welcome Zach to this new full-time position with the city of Hermantown, knowing that his extensive background in firefighting and emergency medical services will bring leadership and teamwork to our new fire department,” Hermantown Mayor Wayne Boucher said in the news release. “This new department will allow us to take the next step in expanding quality emergency services to answer the increasing needs of our growing community.”
“We have had decades of incredible volunteers helping keep our community safe, and that’s a great foundation to build our next department,” Graves said.
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