9/17/24 Update!

As we get closer to getting our own fire station in Otsego, we still need the support of our community members to move this forward. 

Please consider sending a letter of support to ddl@planningco.com and signing this petition.

Here is a copy of the letter I recently sent. Please read to understand how response times work and can be very misleading when it comes to fire suppression. 

Here’s my letter:

My name is Gina Norris, I am a resident of Otsego and I am writing to offer my perspective on why I believe Otsego should move forward with building the first fire station on our city. I cannot make it to the meeting tonight, but wanted to send an email hoping it reaches you before the meeting and ask that you share this at tonight’s meeting. 

As the EDA considers moving forward with an Otsego Fire Station, I wanted to share our experience having had a fire in 2018. This is an experience I hope no other Otsego resident will have to suffer through. 

Many see response times as black and white, but I want to be clear, what you see on paper is not exactly what happened, therefore I’d like to give a different perspective. 

According to records, on the day of our house fire, response time was 9 minutes. But the actual time from when we called 911 to the time a fire engine showed up was 17 minutes, and it was 19 minutes before fire suppression began. Those reports don’t  include time from when 911 was called, only from when the fire dept was actually dispatched. In our case, Wright County had to dispatch Sherburne County, who then had to dispatch Elk River Fire Dept which took 3 minutes.  That 3 minutes doesn’t get included in the response time. Also, the recorded first response time is when the first emergency vehicle arrives not the actual fire engine. 

I hope the verified timeline below gives you a better understanding of “response times”and allows you to understand that importance of having our own fire station in Otsego. We are a growing community. We deserve this! 

 

8/18/18 - Response timeline

7:41pm - call to 911

7:44- wright county dispatched sherburne country, sherburne dispatched elk river fire (average dispatch time can be 1-3 min this time it was 3 min)

7:53- first emergency vehicle (non fire truck) arrived on scene (12 min after 911 call, 9 min after dispatch) 

7:57 -Engine 2 arrived on scene (13 min after dispatched, 16 min after 911 call) 

7:58 - Engine 1 arrived on scene (14 min after dispatch, 17 min after 911 call)

8pm- garage entry, fire suppression began (16 min after dispatched, 19 min after 911 call) 

I can provide any additional information you need should you have any questions.

I have also included a link to an online petition which has nearly 500 signatures of support for an Otsego Fire Station.

Thank you for taking the time to read and for all you do.

 

Original post, August 2018

Due to the growth of housing and development, the recent house/garage fires in Otsego and the length of response times, we are proposing City Council push to discuss and approve building a fire station in our city instead of relying on neighboring cities to be first responders.

Unfortunately, our home recently experienced a devastating garage fire. We were extremely happy with the firefighters and first responders, however it took almost 20 minutes for the first fire truck to arrive...20 minutes!!!!  We were so fortunate we all were safe and no one was injured and that the fire didn't spread as fast as it could have. Some people aren't as lucky as we were, which is why we need to be more proactive in protecting our homes, families and neighbors. 

By signing this petition, you are in support of asking City Council to make this a priority for our city. Your voice matters!

Please share this with your neighbors and fellow residents. Thank you!