Bertrand Volunteer Fire & Rescue

The Bertrand Fire Department wishes to remind residents who believe they may have the novel Coronavirus and/or are experiencing symptoms to stay home and call their primary care physician before traveling to their office, an emergency room, or an acute care clinic. Reported symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and respiratory illness, including pneumonia in severe cases. If you call 911, please let the dispatcher know if you have or possibly have COVID-19. This will help us better prepare for the call.
At the end of August, we said goodbye to two members of our department, Devin and Katie Benson. Devin had been a member for 6 years and was serving as Assistant Fire Chief. Katie had been a member for 1.5 years and was an EMT. We wish to thank them both for their service and wish them well.
A few officer changes were made in August. Brian Schroeder is the Assistant Fire Chief, Jessica Evans is the Captain, Allen Wissmann is the Assistant Captain, and Cord Kipp is the Vice Chairman. The other officers remained the same.
The department has a new member. Derek Galusha joined the department on November 2nd. He comes to us with 3 years experience on the Cambridge fire department, is CPR certified, and has his National Incident Management System endorsements. Thank you Derek for supporting our community.
The handheld radio project was completed recently. Through donations and grants, the department was able to purchase 6 Motorola radios with a charging station and remote microphones. We wish to tank all who supported this project.
Another equipment project completed in November was for a new stair chair. The chair was purchased from Stryker and will help us move patients up or down stairways and from areas where a cot won’t fit. This project was funded by out give2Grow campaign. Thank you Bertrand community for supporting us!
The department has responded to 13 fire/rescue calls and 54 ambulance calls so far this year.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Bertrand Fire Department and Rescue Unit, please contact any member of the department. We currently have 4 openings.
Have a safe holiday season and stay healthy.
-Kevin Stehl, Fire Chief