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SHERIFF ’ S COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES PROMOTE A SAFER COMMUNITY
Ramsey County Undersheriff Terry Soukkala
The Sheriff ’ s Public Safety Services Division is responsible for providing patrol , investigative , waterway and community services .
The Community Support Services Unit promotes a safer community through volunteerism , outreach , and educational programs . Sheriff ’ s staff and volunteers combine their efforts to educate the public and build relationships within the community and within the organization . Volunteers attached to the unit include Community Affairs Officers , Sheriff ’ s Chaplains , Community Emergency Response Team , and Citizens Civil Defense Corps .
Some of the programs and activities coordinated include : Crime Prevention , Neighborhood Watch , Crime Free Multi-Housing , Contract City Events , Scouting Day , School Safety Patrol , D . A . R . E ., Night to Unite , Citizen Academies , Community Affairs Officer Academies , Community Emergency Response Training ( CERT ), Theft from Auto programs , and Gas Drive-off Investigations .
Night to Unite is the first Tuesday of August each year ; the Sheriff ’ s Office joins the community at events in neighborhoods throughout Vadnais Heights – to celebrate public safety partnerships that work year round .
Ramsey County Sheriff ’ s Department : www . RamseyCountySheriff . us
Vadnais Heights Fire Department : www . cityvadnaisheights . com / 177 / Fire
Allina Health Emergency Medical Services : www . allinahealth . org / ems
FIRE DEPARTMENT ’ S PERFECTION ACHIEVED THROUGH RICH HISTORY
Vadnais Heights ’ Fire Chief Ed Leier
The Vadnais Heights Fire Department ( VHFD ) has the best fire rating of all fire departments in the State of Minnesota . The rating is determined by number of stations , equipment , staffing , training , water flow and communications , and it translates into lower costs for property owners .
The VHFD was founded in 1972 as an allvolunteer fire department and operated out of one location with a few used and / or cobbled-together vehicles ; only 47 calls went out for fire protection , for a population of 3,500 . ( Today ’ s population is nearly 13,000 .) Little Canada ’ s fire department had protected the ( then ) Village of Vadnais Heights , but increased homes and wildfires in the Village led it to propose changes to the Council . Present-day Chief Ed Leier has been a firefighter since 1979 and is the City ’ s sixth chief – its first full-time chief . He recounts his department ’ s early history : “ A
group of men who regularly
Through its inspection program , the VHFD has worked to establish Vadnais Heights as a Heart Safe Community . Deaths from sudden cardiac arrest can be prevented by increasing community and public awareness , placing automated external defibrillators ( AEDs ) wherever people live , work and play , and by educating the public on how to administer CPR .
met at the local gas station / auto repair shop agreed to organize and serve the community . The Community Club held a fundraiser , and an affordable , bright red grass-fire truck was found ; ‘ Vadnais Heights Fire Department ’ was painted on its sides . Two pumpers were added , and the council appointed its first chief and voted to spend $ 30,000 on the construction of a steel-sided building next to Village Hall ( on the present-day North Station and Public Works site ). The volunteers completed much of the interior of the building .
“ Little Canada and White Bear Lake fire departments provided equipment and training , and the Vadnais Heights ’ firefighters built a 2,000-gallon tank truck for hauling water to fires . Still , they faced a big challenge because there was no municipal water system – no hydrants .” ( Vadnais Heights did not install a municipal water system until after 1975 ).
1972 , inaugural year of the Vadnais Heights Fire Department : All-volunteer members with 1938 GMC Pumper , 1961 International Scout , and 1951 Ford Pumper
VADNAIS HEIGHTS – A HEART SAFE COMMUNITY
Inspectors locate AEDs that are in the City and gain the permission of the AED owners so that their AEDs can be used in emergencies . The department logs them into a Minnesota AED Registry Database for all responders to use . The department also provides heart-safe CPR training , not only to the business community but also to the community free of charge .
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