County fire chiefs report near-record call volume, urge mutual-aid expansion and funding changes

Mike Harstad, president of the Minnehaha County Fire Chiefs Association and Crooks fire chief, told the commission on March 4 that county fire departments came close to a record year and face growing cost and personnel pressures.

Lede: Harstad said county departments handled about 3,893 fire-only calls in 2024 and that, when combined with volunteer ambulance services, membership agencies ran over 6,500 calls — representing roughly a 9% year-over-year increase in county call volume.

Nut graf: The briefing underscored a staffing and funding squeeze for volunteer departments: rising equipment and insurance costs, more training and new OSHA-related requirements, and the need for stronger mutual-aid and county funding mechanisms to keep rural fire services sustainable.

Body: Harstad said departments have done “more with less,” noting equipment-price inflation and a spike in insurance premiums (he cited increases of 12% to 15% for departments). He said a basic new truck purchase for a rural department can cost in the order of $425,000, using his own department’s upcoming apparatus as an example.

He urged changing the county’s burn-ban approach to include automatic burn bans on red-flag warning days, and described the county’s mutual-aid agreement — first formed in the late 1960s — as a unique regional benefit that the chiefs expanded this year to include border communities in Iowa and Minnesota. “Minnehaha County is unique, and I feel like we because of the population that we have, the departments that we have, I feel like we're we have a spot as leadership in the state of South Dakota with volunteer fire departments,” Harstad said.

Harstad also noted grant activity and PPE investments: he said the state administered about $5 million in a PPE grant that benefitted Minnehaha County departments, and that over the past decade the county has received federal Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and other grants that have delivered several million dollars in gear and trucks.

Commission engagement: Commissioners asked about equipment adequacy and volunteer age profiles. Harstad said some departments have younger rosters while others skew older and that countywide median age varies by department. He said training and shared classes — coordinated through the county chiefs association — are an established, collaborative way to reduce barriers for new entrants.

Ending: Harstad closed by asking the commission to consider funding and policy changes — including a burn-ban rider and potential levy adjustments — to stabilize volunteer departments as call volume rises.