ESD_Norris_16Sep241
D. DANIEL LICHT
From:Gina Norris <ginamarienorris@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, September 16, 2024 9:20 AM
To:D. DANIEL LICHT
Subject:Letter of support for fire station
Good morning!
My name is Gina Norris, I live at 15399 76th St NE, and I am writing to offer my perspective on why I believe Otsego
should move forward with building the first fire station on our city. I cannot make it to the meeting tonight, but wanted
to send an email hoping it reaches you before the meeting and ask that you share this at tonight’s meeting.
As the EDA considers moving forward with an Otsego Fire Station, I wanted to share our experience having had a fire in
2018. This is an experience I hope no other Otsego resident will have to suffer through.
Many see response times as black and white, but I want to be clear, what you see on paper is not exactly what
happened, therefore I’d like to give a different perspective.
According to records, on the day of our house fire, response time was 9 minutes. But the actual time from when we
called 911 to the time a fire engine showed up was 17 minutes, and it was 19 minutes before fire suppression began.
Those reports don’t include time from when 911 was called, only from when the fire dept was actually dispatched. In
our case, Wright County had to dispatch Sherburne County, who then had to dispatch Elk River Fire Dept which took 3
minutes. That 3 minutes doesn’t get included in the response time. Also, the recorded first response time is when the
first emergency vehicle arrives not the actual fire engine.
I hope the verified timeline below gives you a better understanding of “response times”and allows you to understand
that importance of having our own fire station in Otsego. We are a growing community. We deserve this!
8/18/18
7:41pm - call to 911
7:44- wright county dispatched sherburne country, sherburne dispatched elk river fire (average dispatch time can be 1-3
min this time it was 3 min)
7:53- first emergency vehicle (non fire truck) arrived on scene (12 min after 911 call, 9 min after dispatch)
7:57 -Engine 2 arrived on scene (13 min after dispatched, 16 min after 911 call)
7:58 - Engine 1 arrived on scene (14 min after dispatch, 17 min after 911 call)
8pm- garage entry, fire suppression began (16 min after dispatched, 19 min after 911 call)
I can provide any additional information you need should you have any questions.
I have also included a link to an online petition, which has nearly 500 signatures of support for an Otsego Fire Station.
Petition · Otsego Needs a Fire Station! - United States · Change.org
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Thank you for taking the time to read and for all you do.
Gina Norris
763-442-4840
Sent from my iPhone