Dilworth Fire Chief Scott Payne
The new Dilworth Fire Department building stands near the spot where it formerly shared space with the Community Center. (Photos/Nancy Hanson.)
Dilworth’s new fire hall provides ample room for the departments four fire trucks and a rescue vehicle. It may be expanded to the east when the department acquires a ladder truck.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
It’s a new day for Dilworth firefighters. With a state-of-the-art facility twice the size of the aged, shared building it replaced, the city’s Fire Department has caught up with the winds of change and built a foundation expected to serve the growing community for the next half-century.
The fire headquarters, built at a cost of $1.3 million, improves the safety of Dilworth’s fire-fighting force of 30. It lays groundwork for changing and challenging needs in their 100-square-mile primary response area, including not only the city itself but Georgetown and three townships – Kragnes, Oakport and Moorhead. The department covers all of Clay County through mutual aid agreements with the Moorhead Fire Department and the other eight units in Barnesville, Felton, Glyndon, Hawley, Hitterdal, Sabin, Ulen and Pelican Rapids
“Our primary concern, from the very beginning, was firefighter safety,” says Fire Chief Scott Payne, who signed up as a paid-on-call volunteer 21 years ago. He was named chief after his predecessor, Mark Empting, was elected Clay County sheriff in 2022. “Modern construction uses all kind of materials that, according to studies of cancer and firefighters, give off toxic fumes when they burn. Studies have shown that a lot of it is carcinogenic.
“When you’re working in the area, that stuff gets all over you. Now the men can decontaminate when they get back to the station.” Three shows and on-site laundry equipment offer a chance to clean up and wash uniforms, clothing and gear before they go home, insuring not only their safety but that of their families.
If firefighter safety was on the top of their minds when the push for a new station began more than 10 years ago, more space was a close second. “The new trucks get bigger and bigger. We replace equipment every 10 years, which means we’ll be buying a new one in November or December. In our old building, we wouldn’t have been able to close the door on the bay. It would have stuck out at least four feet.”
The department currently operates six vehicles: Two engines, two water tankers, a rescue truck, and a wild-land firetruck that carries 200 gallons of water, with hoses on both sides – particularly essential for fighting grass fires.
The new building was designed for future expansion. A fifth truck bay can be added at its east end if, as anticipated, the department adds a ladder truck in coming years. (Currently the county’s only ladders are in Moorhead.)
A third reason for the expansion, Payne says, was the need for training facilities. “This building includes a second floor and balcony that can be used to train firefighters, especially during the five winter months,” he points out. Crews from other departments may also use that area.
Serving the community as a firefighter has changed a great deal, the chief observes, from when he started at the age of 34. “That’s on the old side to get started. Most who apply are in their 20s,” he says. Twenty years ago, those who stepped up to become firefighters were unpaid. Today, they’re what’s called paid-on-call, currently receiving $17 per hour for each call that interrupts their days and nights. Along with that, they do receive a retirement component based on their length of service.
Some features in the new fire station are designed to make their experience more attractive, including a well-equipped fitness center and private lockers. The spacious day room is outfitted with a kitchen, tables and chairs, and recliners for watching training films in comfort. Members of the crew spend three Mondays each month there – one earmarked for doing maintenance on equipment and trucks, and two for training.
Four new firefighters are joining the crew this fall. They’ll go through a combination of in-person and online classes through M State before testing for certification by the state of Minnesota. “We’re contemplating emergency medical response training,” Payne says, “since we do extrication from accidents and some other emergencies.” Currently, though, the department supports emergency medical services from Sanford Ambulance.
The Dilworth Fire Department has fielded a force of 30 to 35 men since the chief moved here with his family in 1978. “I was in the fourth grade, and Dilworth had 1,700 people or so,” he remembers. “Now we’re close to 5,000, and we have the same number of guys.”
In his first days with the crew, he says, “getting six or 10 calls a month was a lot. Now we had 146 calls last year.” He attributes that both to growth and the ever-presence of cellphones, making it quicker and easier to report the sight of smoke.
Securing funding for the new fire station was a painstaking, years-long process. First came a concept, then development of a substantially different design incorporating the features the leaders and men felt were vital. The second proposed design went to the city manager, mayor and council for approval. After receiving a $975 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, local leaders began a series of trips to St. Paul to convince the Legislature to include a substantial part of the needed funds in a bonding bill.
Payne says they’re grateful to State Sen. Rob Kupec and Rep. Jim Joy for supporting their campaign. “The Chamber of Commerce was great, too,” he adds, citing a persuasive video it produced. Finally, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith got behind the project along with Gov. Tim Walz. “Ours was kind of an offbeat project for a bonding bill,” the chief concedes. “We were thankful for all the supporters who helped get it passed.” The state ultimately bonded the project for $4.6 million. The balance, about $4.4 million, has come from city funds.
The city’s firefighters have begun showing off their new, just-completed professional home in recent weeks. Retired firefighters and the Moorhead Rotary Club have held open houses there. Firehouse Friday was a feature of last month’s Loco Days, with firefighters flipping pancakes on a grill on the patio. A family open house is coming up at the end of August, and another for the entire community will be scheduled this fall.
And then there’s with what Payne calls a “push party.” It’s a traditional, he explains. Late this year, firefighters will physically push the new truck they’re expecting into its bay. Their efforts symbolize teamwork and honor the history of firefighting, all the way back to the horse-drawn days when their predecessors would manually push the fire wagon back into the station after a call.
a traditional celebration where firefighters, often with community members, physically push a new fire truck into its bay, symbolizing teamwork and honoring the history of firefighting. It dates back to the days of horse-drawn equipment, where firefighters would manually push the apparatus back into the station after a call.
