Casselton Fire Department responded to 95 calls for service in 2022, according to their year-end report. These calls include 21 fires, 14 rescue/EMS calls, 10 calls related to hazardous conditions, three service calls and 47 Good Intent calls (emergencies that turn out not to be emergencies, like alarm system issues, cancelled calls, etc).

The time from being paged to the first truck leaving the fire station was just four minutes and 2 seconds. Fire Chief John Hejl noted that this is with a fully volunteer firefighting crew, meaning they left their homes or work to get the trucks going that quickly. On average, a fire truck arrived on the scene in 13 minutes.

Fire crews spent an average of 29 minutes and 11 seconds on the scene of a fire call. Personnel logged just over 569 hours on scene in 2022 and spent about that same number of hours getting equipment ready after runs.

It's more than just fire fighting

Besides fighting fires, the firemen also complete other safety activities. In 2022, they completed:

• 10 building inspections
• 8 daycare inspections
• Practice burns at 3 homes that were donated to the department for training and a prescribed burn at Central Cass High School
• Fire extinguisher class at Central Cass School

A key highlight of 2022 was the Casselton Fire Department hosting the state North Dakota Firefighter's Association convention in June. More than 275 firefights from across North Dakota were in Casselton. Hejl noted that it has been 100 years since Casselton last hosted the state convention.

The fire department members put together a 2022 highlights video to also share their year-end highlights.

It's a team of volunteers

Casselton Fire Department is a team of 28 volunteer members who respond from the fire station in Casselton, ND. The department is the primary fire defense for about 5000 residents across 385 square miles in 12 townships in Cass County. They are also responsible for vehicle extrication in a larger area, bringing their total cover to 745 square miles.

Not only are they fighting fires, but they support the community in other ways. Some examples in 2022 include:

• Training with neighboring fire, EMS and law enforcement departments, Mass Casualty training and NDFA sponsored training with Cass County Agencies
• Hosting a Casselton Business Association meeting at the Fire Station to share information on ISO Rating
• Snow removal around fire hydrants as a shared project with the local Boy Scout troop
• Recruiting new members and ensuring to retain current members

Want to check out the Casselton Fire Department's recap video? You can find it here.