There's a new deputy in town.
Darrell Wickenhauser is Humboldt's new Deputy Fire Chief and building inspector. He began his new, full-time job on March 25.
It's a somewhat new position within the City of Humboldt. Humboldt's new fire chief, Mike Kwasnica, worked for the City as the district deputy chief for the past five years, looking after training for two rural fire departments. The deputy fire chief position for Humboldt, meanwhile, was filled by longtime volunteer firefighter Francis Kunz.
But with the city growing and Humboldt's chief no longer in charge of other rural fire departments, it was decided to make the Humboldt Fire Department's (HFD) deputy chief position a paid one.
Wickenhauser, a member of the Humboldt Fire Department for nearly 13 years and a firefighter for a total of 21 years with three departments (Humboldt, LeRoy and Melfort), put his name forward for the job when it came open earlier this year.
He got it, and started his duties just two months after being named Humboldt's Firefighter of the Year at the Humboldt Emergency Services Charity event on February 2.
A motor vehicle mechanic by trade, Wickenhauser previously worked at South 20 Dodge as an RV technician.
"I wasn't looking for a job, but this opportunity came up and I'm glad I took it," he told the Journal on his fourth day working at the fire hall.
"It's been a passion of mine to be on the fire department," said Wickenhauser.
"I've always found there's a great group of people to socialize with and build trust - these are guys you're putting your life on the line with in emergency situations," he said of what he likes about being on fire departments.
"The way we've been trained to work together has been exceptional," he said of the HFD.
Though the LeRoy native knows this position is more than an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job - there's a lot of on-call work to be done - Wickenhauser's experience on the Humboldt department for the past 12 years, knowing the camaraderie among its members, the good people who are on the department and how well-equipped the fire department is, made it an easy choice to make, he added.
His good working relationship with Kwasnica - both have been on the department for the same number of years - also helped him make the decision to move into firefighting full time.
"We've gotten along and worked together well over the years," Wickenhauser said of Kwasnica, "and we'll continue to do that."
His first few days as the deputy chief were pretty quiet ones, spent setting up his office in the fire hall, and familiarizing himself with the training and policies of the department. Over the next year, he said, he will be taking building inspection, fire inspection and fire instructor courses to get his certifications.
He and Kwasnica have also put together a list of things they would like to do over the next year, like review the fire department's constitution, which has not been looked at in depth since 1988.
They also plan to review the department's standard operating guidelines and bylaws, and are looking to have an audit done which will review every aspect of their operations, Kwasnica said, from equipment to training.
That audit should help them see where they are right now, where they should be for a city this size, and where they need to be in five years.
It will also assist them in creating a strategic plan for the HFD, Kwasnica noted.
