Superior Fire Department honors service

Apr. 8—SUPERIOR — On the morning of Oct. 21, 2021, a fire was reported at 1310 Baxter Ave., and Platoon 2 responded to see smoke coming from the second-story windows and eaves of the house.

Superior police officers reported the home was likely occupied, prompting Capt. Jeff Baker and firefighter Gus Abrahamson to enter the house and begin a search amid heavy smoke with no visibility.

As they made their way to the stairs to reach the second floor, Capt. Steven Miner and firefighter Trevor Clark cooled the fire with a hand line from the exterior. As they searched the second floor, Baker and Abrahamson found a man seated in the hall across from the room that was on fire. They removed him from the building and handed him off to motor pump operator Devin Shaw and a Mayo ambulance crew before returning to the second floor to battle the blaze.

Their actions that day saved a life and earned all five Superior firefighters involved a Life Saving Award on Thursday, April 4.

They were honored as the Superior Fire Department welcomed five new members to the fire service, celebrated promotions and recognized exemplary service to the community.

"Today, we're here to celebrate the Superior Fire Department," said Chief Camron Vollbrecht. "Hopefully, you won't hear any mention of fire trucks, stations, budgets, new rope rescue equipment, Jet Skis or new policies and procedures and SOGs (standard operating guidelines).

"Not that those things aren't important to a fire department, but it's not what makes up a fire department," Vollbrecht said. "The people make up a fire department. The people that make the sacrifice, the individuals on our fire department, but the individuals at home who have to make sacrifices when they come to work 48 hours at a time. We're here to celebrate them."

John Prendergast and John Freer were promoted to captains.

"Captains are our company officers," Vollbrecht said. "They're the ones that are in charge of our fire trucks on a daily basis. When they're running medical calls, they're in charge of that scene. They're making split-second life and health decisions."

Caleb Sorvik and Cam Kalan were promoted to lead and assistant fire inspectors, respectively.

"Our fire inspectors have a really challenging job," Assistant Chief Howard Huber said. "From Day 1, they take on a large workload. They are responsible for getting into all the properties in the city, doing inspections. They also have enforcement authority, and another part of their role is community outreach and education.

"It's not exactly the kind of work we go into the fire service looking for, but our saying is, 'You save more lives doing fire inspections than you ever will in a fire drill.'"

Austin Elliot, David Rosa, Tony Orlandi, Nathan Van Meter and Abrahamson were promoted to motor pump operators.

"When firefighters take on this role, they are taking on a lot of new responsibilities," Huber said. "We don't just rely on them to operate the fire trucks and maneuver them through traffic and obstacles through all kinds of weather. We expect them to be experts on the fire pumps, aerial apparatus and all the specialized equipment that is on the trucks."

The mayor welcomed newly sworn firefighters Perry Bently, Abby Dolsen, Josh Walczynski, Breena Kolquist and Mason Blankenship.

"We're going to expect a great deal of you," Mayor Jim Paine said. "This is not ordinary work in the fire service in Wisconsin. We have a very challenging place to protect. We have very dangerous industry, very volatile things around the city that have created very real challenges for our fire department."

Superior is a city with a full wilderness and the largest of the Great Lakes, which will make job challenging, Paine said.

"It's going to be a very exciting job, but we expect that we're going to have the best fire department in the United States," Paine said. "It's what we have now and it's a tradition that we expect you to uphold as you join us. ... Firefighting is dangerous, but if we can be honest, that's kind of why some of them are in it. Firefighters are a bit of a weird breed. They're excited about the danger."

Paine said the work will be challenging, but satisfying.

"Every single day, you're making a difference for this community, even if it doesn't feel like it ... firefighters save lives," Paine said.

* Firefighter of the Year: John Prendergast

* Mary Ann Katzmark Community Award: Anna Davey (Toys for Tots)

* Letters of commendation: Jeff Baker, Devin Shaw, Abrahamson, Miner, Clark, Andy Knutson, Colton Lorenz (2), Brandon Cardenas, Adam Staples (2), Freer, Sorvik (2), Joe Tribbey, Mike Hoyt, Suzi Olson, Lindzi Campbell, John Lundberg, Ja'lon Sventek, Gary Winters, Aidan Kealey-Swenson