Changes in MSFDA

   Greetings firefighters, families and friends! It’s mid-September as I write. Gardens are producing like crazy, many people are canning and freezing the bounty. Some color is appearing on the trees, the soybean leaves are turning yellow. Next week summer gives way to autumn. The times they are a-changing! 

   There will be a bit of change with the MSFDA. I chose not to run for a third and final term as president. I will also be retiring from the board at the conclusion of the upcoming annual conference. A new person will take the helm of Minnesota’s oldest and largest firefighter association. 

   At a region meeting in 2010, I was asked if I’d be interested in serving as the MSFDA rep by the region president and MSFDA rep who wanted to retire. My response was ‘no way!’ but when the position was up two years later, I said yes. They must have seen something in me. I was never one to get up in front of a group of people to speak so this was definitely outside my comfort zone. The night I said yes, I couldn’t even begin to imagine the fire that was lit in me. Serving on the MSFDA board was one of the best things I involved myself in. 

   I was elected in the fall of 2012 to represent the 75+ departments in Region 6 or Lake Region. I worked at making connections with all the departments, making phone calls or visiting when I could. After a couple years, I saw an opportunity to advance on the MSFDA board as an officer. I was elected as the MSFDA secretary / treasurer in 2015. I was also appointed by the board that year to serve as the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) director for Minnesota. 

   The NVFC meets in person twice a year. The spring meeting is held in the Washington DC area and the fall meeting is hosted by one of the member state associations. I felt intimidated and a bit out of place at my first NVFC meeting. I gathered that many of the directors had been in the fire service 40-50 years, served as chiefs or heads of this or that at the regional or state level or were on very busy volunteer departments. Here was me, a fifteen-year regular firefighter from a rural department that ran less than 100 calls a year. At lunch one day, I had mentioned our call volume and one director’s reaction was an incredulous “that’s it??”. Turns out, his department ran several hundred calls a year. The neat thing about the NVFC is that all directors are accepted as is and treated as a brother or sister. It was incredible meeting and working with firefighters from around the country. Many have the same issues we have here along with the unique challenges they deal with given their climate or location- the stories I heard over a beer or two in the evenings! 

   During my time as a NVFC director representing the approximately 20,000 volunteer/paid on call Minnesota firefighters, I met and educated many of our elected officials on Capitol Hill on the issues important to the fire service. I never lost the ‘gee whiz’ factor that here I was, a farm kid hob knobbing with the big dogs. I also shared with my colleagues from around the country the successes and frustrations of Minnesota’s firefighters. There were several ideas brought back to help improve the fire service here at home. I enjoyed attending the meetings hosted by the various state associations. During the off hours, we were treated to the local historic sites (have I ever mentioned I love studying history?), firefighter museums, fire stations and cuisine. That huge, medium rare tomahawk bison steak grilled by the North Dakota Bison Association- wow!! 

   I also met and worked with a lot of dedicated firefighters in Minnesota during my time on the board. I attended countless meetings and events. In working with members of various fire service associations and organizations, I developed some good relationships. I also got to see and experience some pretty cool stuff and some sad, heart-rending events. The MSFDA will be in good hands- what the next 150 years will bring....

   All in all it’s been a good run. Don’t be afraid to step up and get involved with your region or state firefighter association, you never know where it’ll take you! 

   Take care, 

Dave Yurczyk,

MSFDA President