Owatonna Fire Department

The Owatonna Fire Department of southeastern Minnesota has a mission to save lives and property in a safe and efficient manner. The department is using its new Fire Corps program as one way to further this mission.

Owatonna Fire Corps consists of over twenty volunteers, utilizing members of their Explorers program and retired firefighters to promote fire and life safety education and help with special projects in the Owatonna community. They recently hosted a Chile Feed where Fire Corps members helped spread this year’s Fire Prevention Week safety message, "Watch What you Heat," to teach families and children how to prevent cooking fires. Other plans for the Owatonna Fire Corps include providing support functions for large incidents, such as salvage operations, firewatch, equipment preparation, and quality control/management of error operations, as well aiding victims who may need assistance, direction, or information to recover from an emergency.

Working closely with its Citizen Corps Council, the Owatonna Fire Department is also home to a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Owatonna Fire Chief Mike Johnson said that the department has had great success with CERT, which has opened the department to a new realm of opportunities with Fire Corps. The department plans to apply for additional funding through Citizen Corps to assist in its Fire Corps endeavors.

For more information on the Owatonna Fire Corps program, please contact Fire Chief Mike Johnson at mikej@ci.owatonna.mn.us or 507-444-2457.