Hovland Volunteer Fire Department

In the midst of all of our building plans, a great opportunity has suddenly sprung up. We have the chance to replace our 37-year old fire truck with a much newer, “gently used” truck from the Bloomington Fire Department.  The used truck being offered to us was appraised at $50,000, but they are willing to help small rural departments like ours and are offering it to us for $20,000. Considering the cost of many new engines ranges between $400,000-$500,000, this is an amazing opportunity, and a hard deal to pass up!

The problem is that we have been budgeting our funds for building construction and general maintenance on our current fire hall and equipment. We hadn’t allocated any funds for a new truck, so we are asking for your help in making this important purchase. We cannot do this without your help!

We have secured partial funding through the generous support of the North Shore Health Care Foundation, who has funded many grants to public services within Cook County. And we greatly appreciate the continued assistance of larger fire departments such as Bloomington FD. Their donations of fire gear and opportunities to purchase used equipment provide significant savings for our fire department.

But we need your help! How can you donate? Just click on DONATIONS on the menu to the left. No amount is too small! No amount is too big! And don’t forget: Hovland Fire Dept. is a 501(c)3 non-profit entity, so your donation is tax deductible.

Thank you, and stay tuned for updates!

After 10 years of planning, the Hovland Fire Department is well on its way to getting a new fire hall built!

We are teaming up with Morton Buildings to build a new hall that will be more than twice the size of our current hall. There will be room for all our fire trucks are response vehicles, have a large meeting room, and even boast running water!

New property located north and west of our current hall has been purchased, permits are being acquired, and we are having fun designing the interior layout of the hall. Excavation should begin after spring thaw, and we hope to have the exterior completed by fall.

Want to help? Stay tuned for updates, or help us furnish the business section with a donation.

Hovland Fire Dept. celebrates the addition of 3 new firefighters to our department. All three are going through the Firefighter 1 and 2 training this winter, which is being taught by Jeff Mayer of Advanced MN and our own Assistant Chief, Terry Spieker.

Bob Svaleson joined our department in 2018 and has been busy cross- training with our STOP team and getting his EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) certification.

John and Judi (not pictured) Vitek are relative newcomers to the Hovland area, but are not new to the county! John is training in as a firefighter, and Judi is a welcome addition to our STOP Team.

Danessa Schmidt is the true newcomer – both to our neighborhood and our department. It’s great to get a female firefighter back in the department!

On Sept. 11, 2001, hundreds of emergency responders answered the call when planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York. Hundreds of firefighters, medical responders and police officers died that day and continue to have health problems today.

We honor them today. We will never forget their sacrifice.

Please join the members and families of the Hovland Volunteer Fire Department as we celebrate another year gone by! We are hosting a barbeque/potluck at the Hovland Town Hall on Wednesday, October 2nd at 6:00pm.

Catch up on what we’ve been doing in the past year, and what we hope to accomplish in the year ahead. Ask questions of our responders, or just thank them for a job well done. You can also nominate new members for our Board and vote on Board positions.

Bring your favorite dish to share – we are providing hamburgers and brats for everyone!

Please contact us if you have any questions. Our email is HovlandFire@boreal.org

Hovland responders work side-by-side with the Colvill Fire Department to cover our 2 large fire districts.

We often have joint training events, and June’s training had Hovland and Colvill fire fighters practicing at Horseshoe Bay – pumping water from the lake, drafting water between equipment, and testing the effectiveness of the water cannon.

Pumping the water out of Lake Superior

Colvill’s water cannon in action.

Hovland firefighters, EMS and STOP team gathered at Trinity Lutheran Church to hear about the drug problems that Cook County responders are dealing with. Deputy Leif Lunde related the most common drugs law enforcement is currently dealing with and the effects of being a port of entry county into Canada. He also discussed some of the health hazards to first responders who are called to scenes involving drugs.

Members of the STOP team trained with Hovland VFD’s new rescue equipment this week.

Used to carry victims out of remote locations, a stokes basket that is sturdy enough to be lifted by helicopter, but breaks down and fits into its own backpack for getting into the backcountry. Outfitted with a cushion and pillow makes for a comfy journey!

And a top-of-the-line new “mule”, which is a wheel and titanium frame that takes the strain off the responders. This one also has its own backpack!

Thanks to the generous donation of Hovland resident  John Peterson, our department was able to purchase Cascade Rescue’s TerraTamer rescue wheel. In exchange, he got the first ride during training!

Believe it or not, training can be fun! When the snow is flying, we continue our training indoors by creating and discussing possible accident scenarios within our district. Toy cars and trucks and miscellaneous hardware let us reenact possible roadside incidents.

2018 Newsletter