Fargo honors Fire Chief Steve Dirksen as he retires; annual report highlights steady incident levels and areas for improvement

The Fargo City Commission recognized Fargo Fire Chief Steve Dirksen for 36 years in the fire service and received his final annual report from him during the meeting.

Chief Dirksen told the commission he was proud to leave the department “stronger, more efficient, and better equipped” and recounted improvements made during his tenure, including opening Fire Station 8 and guiding the department to an ISO Class 1 rating. "This mark of excellence not only reflects in the top tier department, but also delivers real savings to the Fargo homeowners through reduced insurance cost," Dirksen said in remarks presented to the commission.

The nut graf: Dirksen combined a farewell with operational data that the commission said it will use to guide staffing and capital decisions. His report outlined ongoing investments in stations and training, recruitment of new firefighters and continuing efforts to reduce incident impacts, while noting response‑time and system‑improvement work the department plans to continue.

In the body of his report, Dirksen said Fargo remains an ISO Class 1 community after recent accreditation work and a site visit by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. He said the accreditation team had about 17 recommendations and that the department already had begun work on seven of them. "We opened up the curtains, pulled back, we lifted up the rugs and looked for the dust, and we found a few areas the team found that we can improve," Dirksen said. He told commissioners the full accreditation report will be brought back to them after it is finalized.

Dirksen provided operational numbers from the prior year that he described as generally positive: total incidents declined from a recent high, fire injuries and fatalities were down compared with earlier years, and the department completed thousands of inspections and public‑education contacts. He said the department completed 6,709 inspections in 2024 and made about 2,500 adult education contacts through outreach activities.

Dirksen also reviewed response metrics that remain a focus for improvement. He reported a median response time for medical incidents of 8 minutes 50 seconds and an effective response force (the measure the department uses to show when enough units have arrived) of about 13 minutes. "When we open the new dispatch center, some changes in process and the ability to move some things around that we're not able to do in the current center, we'll make a change and we'll be able to work on that call processing time and get that down," he said.

On capital work, Dirksen noted Fire Station 8 opened last year and that repair work at Station 5 is nearly complete following a structural issue. He said station and equipment work is ongoing and thanked West Fargo Fire Department for a partnership that allowed Fargo crews to operate during repairs.

Dirksen also summarized specialty operations: 151 hazmat responses (many for natural gas leaks), 85 technical rescue incidents and 15 water rescues last year. He said recruitment remained active — the department welcomed 13 new firefighters and two metro academies in the past year and planned further hiring and academies later in the year.

Commissioners praised Dirksen’s leadership. Commissioner Kolpak read a tribute highlighting his record of service and his work on joint regional training and mutual‑aid relationships. "Your 36 years of service have left a lasting mark not only on your department but on our entire community," Kolpak said.

Dirksen closed by thanking his family and the community for their support. He told the commission he looks forward to handing off leadership to the next chief and to spending time with family after retirement.

Ending: The commission received the report and acknowledged Dirksen’s service; no commission action on departmental policy or budget followed from the report during the meeting.