Hovland Volunteer Fire Department celebrates new fire hall, responders, with community open house
Oct 09, 2023 12:45PM ● By Content Editor
All photos courtesy of Beth Ambrosen
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 9, 2023
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Hovland Fire Department celebrated the opening of their new fire hall - a project that's been in the works since 2009.
Established in 1976, the Hovland Fire Department covers the area from Judge C.R. Magney State Park, to Reservation River, and up to the Canadian border.
According to volunteer firefighter and search and rescue member Beth Ambrosen, the Hovland team had outgrown their old firehouse years ago, telling Boreal Community Media that "The old hall didn't even have running water."
The new hall not only has running water, but hosts bathrooms and shower facilities, a full kitchen, and can hold all of the department's firetrucks and equipment.
Ambrosen said that the department "Responds to 6-10 fire calls, 12-25 medical calls, and 5-10 STOP* calls per year," and they are set up to act as a command base for emergencies, which the team experienced during the August search for local resident Denny Pechacek. (STOP stands for Safety Team Operational Patrol, and is a system-based flagger protocols for MnDOT, created in 2008 by Keck Melby, one of HVFD's past firefighters/EMT responders.)
The open house was the first public event the department has hosted since before the pandemic, and not only a nod to the new fire hall, but also to celebrate the hard work of the responders and to thank the community for their support.
"We hope to do many events in the future," said Ambrosen.
To learn more about the Hovland Fire Department, visit: https://hovlandvfd.com/
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - October 9, 2023
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Hovland Fire Department celebrated the opening of their new fire hall - a project that's been in the works since 2009.
Established in 1976, the Hovland Fire Department covers the area from Judge C.R. Magney State Park, to Reservation River, and up to the Canadian border.
According to volunteer firefighter and search and rescue member Beth Ambrosen, the Hovland team had outgrown their old firehouse years ago, telling Boreal Community Media that "The old hall didn't even have running water."
The new hall not only has running water, but hosts bathrooms and shower facilities, a full kitchen, and can hold all of the department's firetrucks and equipment.
Ambrosen said that the department "Responds to 6-10 fire calls, 12-25 medical calls, and 5-10 STOP* calls per year," and they are set up to act as a command base for emergencies, which the team experienced during the August search for local resident Denny Pechacek. (STOP stands for Safety Team Operational Patrol, and is a system-based flagger protocols for MnDOT, created in 2008 by Keck Melby, one of HVFD's past firefighters/EMT responders.)
The open house was the first public event the department has hosted since before the pandemic, and not only a nod to the new fire hall, but also to celebrate the hard work of the responders and to thank the community for their support.
"We hope to do many events in the future," said Ambrosen.
To learn more about the Hovland Fire Department, visit: https://hovlandvfd.com/
