Fire department elects officers, attend state fire school in Minot
The West Fargo Fire Department held election of officers for the upcoming year at their annual meeting held recently, with one new member elected to the board - Joey Porter, serving as secretary.
Returning board members elected to new respective positions are: Kevin Dockter, president, Dave Pralguske, first vice president, Chris Rolph, second vice president, and Ken Zetocha, treasurer.
Other assignments included: Joe Tintes, first assistant chief, Randy Woodley, second assistant chief, and Assistant Fire Chief Dell Sprecher taking over one of the captain's positions, joining Rory Jorgensen, Kendel Frost and Chris Rolph.
Members of the department also participated in the annual fire school held in Minot on Feb. 25-Feb. 27.
Fire Chief Roy Schatscheider and volunteer firefighters Tom and Tim Clark, Brian Christiansen and Chris Papenfuss participated, along with 1,000 other attendees from North Dakota and neighboring states.
This marked the first time the event was held in Minot, but it definitely won't be the last, as Minot officials penned a five-year deal with the North Dakota Firefighters Association to host the annual school.
Schatschneider said Minot has fantastic facilities, complete with a live fire training center that allows for real life experiences with burned buildings, vehicle fires, etc.
He said the training involved both hands-on experiences, and classroom training on various topics including dealing with propane emergencies, grinder wrecks, (i.e. how to gain access, extricating), as well as basic pump maintenance and operation, made e even more interesting with the presentation involving an actual cut-away fire pump.
