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White Bear Lake proclaims October Firefighter Appreciation Month as chief reports higher call volume and new hires
Summary
Mayor Dan Lewis read a proclamation declaring October 2025 "Firefighter Appreciation Month" as Fire Chief Waylander delivered a biannual report: the department covers about 35 square miles, is running roughly 9% above last year's run volume, and will add three full-time firefighter EMTs in October.
Mayor Dan Lewis read a proclamation declaring October 2025 "Firefighter Appreciation Month," thanking current and past firefighters for their service and urging residents to show support for the fire department.
Fire Chief Waylander gave the department's biannual report, saying the department protects the city of White Bear Lake and adjacent areas (about 35 square miles and an estimated 38,000—6,000 people) and that call volume is up about 9% over last year. He described current staffing and recent hires: three chief officers, two assistant chiefs, an administrative assistant, three full-time captains who operate the three shifts, 15 full-time firefighter-paramedics, and three newly hired full-time firefighter EMTs (Jeff Ecman, Mindy Feaster and Jack Cole) who will begin on Oct. 6 to allow seven-person staffing on each shift.
The chief described operational programs and recent incidents. He highlighted the department's rescue-swimmer capability, which was used during a drowning response earlier this year, and reviewed a townhouse blaze near Willow Lane that affected three units and was later determined to be accidental. "Everybody made it out safely," he said, and crews were able to recover some interior belongings and pets.
Waylander also played a training video and warned about lithium-ion battery fires in micromobility devices, urging residents to "buy only listed products, charge only with the device's charger and recycle them properly." He explained that when cells fail they can experience "thermal runaway" and ignite suddenly, a pattern the video demonstrated.
Council members asked about response times and staffing; staff reported modest improvements in response times driven by increased availability and the new full-time hires. The chief invited council members and the public to a department open house on Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and to live-fire training planned for Nov. 1 at the Maplewood East Metro training facility.
The council lauded the department's public outreach and training programs and thanked staff for the report.
