Someone You Should Know: Fire Chief Retires

Minot s City Council will be asked to approve a new fire chief for the city next week City Manager Dave Waind will bring his choice to the council for a vote on Monday Meanwhile the man who s been at the head of the department for almost ten years has said so long But before his last day on the job last Friday Harold Haugstad talked with Jim Olson about his years on the job Jim Olson KX News The message on his computer monitor on his last day was simple - and judging by the gift his fellow firefighters presented him retiring fire chief Harold Haugstad knows it s a wish for the best Harold Haugstad Minot Fire Chief I was just blown away by this Usually we give a little plaque with our badges on it and a nametag and a picture It was totally unexpected and I can t tell them how much I appreciate that Jim Olson KX News Of course he leaves with many memories of his decades as a firefighter Some of them humorous like the time he and a partner were trying to break down the door of a burning home Harold Haugstad Minot Fire Chief We were going to kick it in couldn t kick it in we were going to knock it in with our shoulders and it just kind of gave and wasn t working out like it does in the movies Pretty soon we looked around and here s this guy standing there and we said do you live here Yep Got a key Yep So then we got the key and opened it and walked in Jim Olson KX News But some memories are much more serious - like the first information he got on January 18th 2002 when he was called in to direct response to a major train derailment and chemical spill Harold Haugstad Minot Fire Chief I was over here in just a few minutes and he had just pulled up and I said how bad is it And he said imagine as bad as you can think and make it ten times worse Jim Olson KX News He says that was a very trying time - but says overall his memories of serving as firefighter and chief are good ones Especially in the various people he s met - right at the fire station Harold Haugstad Minot Fire Chief You get out and have good quick knockdowns of fires or you make good saves on something helping people in auto accidents during auto extrication all the training you do certainly the closeness that you develop with all the firefighters you live with 24 hours a day Jim Olson KX News One accomplishment of which he s proud is the new main fire station on Minot s south sidea building firefighters themselves helped design And one that comes with a very important red button in the kitchen area Harold Haugstad Minot Fire Chief Sometimes they leave - there ve been instances across the nation where they ve been cooking and they leave and don t shut everything down and come back only to find a fire at their fire station So that shuts everything down when they leave Good plan Jim Olson KX News Harold Haugstad Someone You Should Know Jim Olson KX News