Hermantown Fire Evolves Past Volunteer Model

The Department continued growth by hiring a fire inspector and training officer

HERMANTOWN, Minn. — The Hermantown Fire Department is expanding its efforts to better serve the community.

Over the past year, the City has been making changes to the volunteer firefighting model. That system has been in place for more than 70 years. But as Hermantown grows, the Fire Department is looking to not only increase efficiency, but support their firefighters. Jim Crace, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, said the new model will be add salaried positions.

“In life, I think sometimes people are motivated by doing service to their community and other folks are motivated by extra compensation,” Crace said. “We think we’re kind of a hybrid between that.”

Hermantown Fire recently hired Zach Graves as the city’s first full-time fire chief in October. And Steve Johnson has been hired as a full-time Fire Inspector and Training Officer.
Graves and Johnson come from the Air National Guard Fire Department, and have decades of combined experience.

“Seventy years, being true volunteers, that’s a solid foundation for what Chief Graves and I have to build off of,” Johnson said. “So this new fire department, one of our values is tradition. We are taking what the founders in 1951 started and making sure that we’re continuing that same style of service and everyone in this area feels safe.”

The fire department will also have up to 25 paid on-call positions and collaborate with the police department.