HomeMy WebLinkAbout032320EFD_SevenNewFirefightersContact: Kaylin Eidsness, Senior Communications Coordinator
Phone 952-833-9537 • keidsness@EdinaMN.gov • EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seven Sworn In as Edina’s Newest Paramedic/Firefighters
Edina, Minn., March 23, 2020 – Allie Adie, Luke Anderson, Alex Heroff, Bernie de Hoog, John Meyer, Chris Liston and Ryan Schmitz took the oath of office at Edina City Hall and officially
joined the Edina Fire Department as Paramedic/Firefighters Tuesday, March 17.
“These seven Paramedic/Firefighters all have strong backgrounds in emergency medical services, and most have a good deal of firefighting experience as well,” said Assistant Fire Chief
Pete Fisher. “This group will increase our daily Fire Department staffing levels to the point where we will be able to staff an additional ambulance 24 hours a day.”
Six of the seven Paramedic/Firefighters were hired through a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant the Edina Fire Department was awarded in 2019. The
roughly $900,000 grant will help offset the expense of hiring the additional staff through the grant’s completion in March 2023. The seventh position will replace a Paramedic/Firefighter
who is slated to retire this summer.
Liston, Badge 157, said he is looking forward to getting to know his shift. “There wasn’t one person who wasn’t smiling or willing to introduce themselves and strike up a conversation,”
he said of his first impression of the department.
De Hoog, Badge 156, is just as excited about the new opportunity, saying the Edina Fire Department “is a fantastic place to work while being able to provide fire, medical and rescue
response all in house.
“I knew as soon as I had the opportunity to meet some firefighters at the station that this was the place I wanted to work my career.”
These positions help meet the findings of the 2017 public safety staffing study completed by Novak Consulting that determined additional staff was needed with the increased call load.
For more information on the Edina Fire Department, visit EdinaMN.gov/Fire.
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