There's a new interim fire chief in Humboldt.
With Humboldt Fire Chief Norbert LeBlanc retiring on December 21 and no one yet hired to replace him, Mike Kwasnica has been appointed the Interim Fire Chief by the City of Humboldt.
Kwasnica, who is currently the district deputy chief for the Humboldt Fire Department (HFD), has been working part time for the HFD for the past five years - the only other paid employee on the department apart from the chief. The rest of the firefighters are all volunteers.
Kwasnica is also currently a part-time building inspector for the City of Humboldt.
Originally from St. Benedict, he's been a member of the HFD since 2001, and was self-employed as a contractor and carpenter for years before beginning his job with the City.
He will step up to fire chief, for the interim, on December 22.
"I'll take over the role of fire chief until they choose a full-time fire chief," Kwasnica explained to the Journal last week.
Until the City hires a new fire chief, Kwasnica will assume all the responsibilities of operating the HFD, and all the duties of the fire chief - duties which LeBlanc has carried out for over two decades.
There's plenty to do when you're the fire chief of a mostly volunteer fire department, Kwasnica explained.
In addition to running emergency scenes, there's maintaining the fire hall and its equipment - a job that Kwasnica has assisted LeBlanc with for the past number of years.
"There's a lot of equipment that needs to be maintained and checked," Kwasnica said.
"You can't wait to find out things are broken at the time of a call. So we're always checking batteries, and making sure that small motors will start. We run the Jaws of Life on a regular basis."
They run all the department's trucks, which include two pumper trucks, a ladder/pumper truck, a tanker, and a rescue unit - and everything on them (that's lights, saws, generators, and airpacks) once a week to make sure everything is operational.
And they do training preparations for firefighters.
"There's a lot of mitigation work that we do," Kwasnica said.
They conduct fire drills at facilities and schools, give talks for different groups and do tours of the fire hall - about 25 every year.
There are also phone calls to answer - people call with questions about fire codes and regulations that it's up to the chief to answer.
The chief and deputy are also in charge of doing fire inspections of all the businesses in Humboldt once a year.
Kwasnica has covered for the fire chief before, during holidays, so he's done most of his job on a short-term basis, including office work like billing and filling out call sheets. He's also qualified for the job - he's a Level 1 fire instructor, Level 2 fire inspector and is certified to do fire investigations and is a building inspector.
But the hall will be different without LeBlanc around, he said.
Kwasnica admitted some trepidation at stepping into LeBlanc's shoes, but he's happy to get this opportunity.
"It's a big role to fill," he said. "There's lots of things to be considered. I hope I'm ready, but I'm expecting to learn as I go."
Kwasnica plans to continue on with what LeBlanc has been doing at the department, and hopes that he will be chosen as the permanent fire chief for Humboldt.
"Norbert's had a good legacy, and he's well-liked. I hope to be as succesful in the future, if I'm lucky enough to get the job."
Kwasnica says he's excited about where Humboldt is going.
"It's growing," he said of the city, and he's interested to see what the fire department will look like in five years, if the population doubles as some expect it to.
What's the appeal of being a member of the fire department?
"Honestly, it's the adrenaline rush," Kwasnica admitted.
"I think that's what keeps everybody here. When that pager goes off, it's a feeling that's hard to explain."
In addition to that, though, being a firefighter is a nice service to offer to the public, he said.
"It's nice to be a part of helping people," he said. "It's a small part, because it's all the emergency services who work together, but it's still good to do your part."
