The Good Life – March-April 2018
Featuring the new FM Redhawks coach Michael Schlact. Local Heroes - Harwood Fire and Rescue, Having a Beer with Too Tall Tom Szymanski and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
Featuring the new FM Redhawks coach Michael Schlact. Local Heroes - Harwood Fire and Rescue, Having a Beer with Too Tall Tom Szymanski and more in Fargo Moorhead's only men's magazine.
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LOCAL HERO // HARWOOD FIRE AND RESCUE<br />
sure we’re okay. We have people help<br />
with traffic control and members<br />
who are more like moms to us who<br />
help out with dinners and make<br />
sure we have water on the scene.<br />
All of those roles are important. We<br />
just need people.”<br />
Goals Materializing<br />
Few realize the impact a volunteer<br />
fire and rescue can have on a<br />
community. On average, the<br />
department takes 120 calls a year,<br />
ranging from reported fires to<br />
medical emergencies.<br />
“Before I started I didn’t know<br />
what this department did,” Giere<br />
said. “I didn’t even know we had a<br />
department until I got into it and<br />
saw what kind of impact we make in<br />
our community.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> department, founded in<br />
1983, covers 23 miles of I-29 and<br />
even extends into 42 sq. miles<br />
of Minnesota, requiring them to<br />
meet standards and be certified in<br />
both North Dakota and Minnesota.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se expectations of the fire hall<br />
and its membership come at a cost.<br />
As a fire and rescue department,<br />
funding is received from the City of<br />
Harwood, township contracts, and<br />
money from the county for emergency<br />
medical service (EMS), but that does<br />
not cover the daily expenses required<br />
to meet regulations.<br />
“We roughly triple those dollars every<br />
year based on donations, grants that<br />
we write and gaming,” Svaleson said.<br />
“People often assume that funding<br />
is taken care of, but if we relied on<br />
the money we’re given every year, we<br />
would never survive.”<br />
32 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com