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Rural fire chief asks county to cover hazmat certification costs; staff to check training fund balance
Summary
Randy Hegwold, Linn County emergency management and rural fire foreman, requested the county use an education fund to pay for hazmat and Fire I national tests for roughly 10 firefighters; county staff said the fund exists but currently has no budgeted dollars and will investigate alternatives including courthouse contingency.
Randy Hegwold, Linn County Emergency Management and rural fire road foreman, asked the commission to use an existing education fund to pay for national certification tests for firefighters taking hazmat and Fire I exams.
Hegwold said the national hazmat test costs about $45–$46 per firefighter and the Fire I test is “closer to $100,” and that roughly 10 firefighters plan to take the exams, which would total “over a thousand dollars” if the county covers the testing fees. Hegwold said the education fund had been set up historically for the sheriff’s office and rural fire but had not been used recently.
County staff responded that while the fund still exists, it was not budgeted this year and currently shows a zero balance; it does not automatically roll over. Staff suggested using the courthouse contingency line in the general fund as an alternative, but said that would require approval. The commission directed Hegwold to work with Danielle to investigate the line item and bring back an answer next week.
Why it matters: Certification testing pays for nationally recognized qualifications for fire and hazmat response and affects the county’s training capacity and emergency response readiness.
Direct quotes are attributed to the named speakers in the transcript.
