Fire department responded to 78 calls last year

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Deer Creek City Fire Department continues to be an active fire department when it comes to medical and fire calls in eastern Otter Tail County.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last Monday night, the Deer Creek City Council heard from new fire chief Andrew Browne about the amount of calls the fire department responded to last year. Browne said the fire department responded to 78 calls in 2022, which was down slightly from the 88 calls the department responded to the year before. 

“It’s down a little bit from the last few years, but I would say it is in that normal rate of 70-90 calls,” said Browne. 

A majority of the calls were medical responses. 

In addition to hearing the annual call report the city council approved the Deer Creek Fire Department roster for 2023. 

Fire department members include: Browne, Jayme George, Travis Collins, Diane George, David Brown, Dana Damm, Dan Hendershot, Joe Brown, David Moats, Brandon Christensen, Amanda Schaefer, Chad Keskitalo, Cody Truax, Eric Samuelson, Ryan Wegscheid, Adam Arneson and David George. 

The fire department also approved three members to its reserve squad including: Wayne Perkins, David Snyder and Josh Dunker.

In other news

• Heard that the New York Mills Police Department logged 35 hours of calls last month. The call list included five business checks, medicals, four warnings and one call logged to suspicious activity. 

• Discussed a trailer house that was pulled into the city limits in the fall. The Deer Creek City ordinances state that any trailer house that is pulled into the city limits must be located in the trailer park. 

• Discussed the potential to replace the Christmas lights in the city limits. The Christmas lights are beginning to show their age and are becoming brittle. The Deer Creek Lions Club has expressed an interest in helping to fund a portion of new Christmas lights but has asked for a quote or proposal about what new lights could look like in town.