A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Cloquet Area Fire District Station 1
Following two roundsa of interviews and months of searching, the Cloquet Area Fire District is still seeking its next fire chief.
The CAFD board chose to not hire either of two initial finalists (out of 15 applicants) who interviewed in early April, admitting that the job description called for someone with skills far beyond the average fire chief.
In late May, the board interviewed two more candidates: former Cloquet city administrator Brian Fritsinger and George Esbensen, who was fire chief and director of emergency preparedness in Eden Prairie, Minnesota for 16 years.
Current CAFD chief Kevin Schroeder said they didn't get the number of candidates they had hoped for in the first round, and decided to keep looking after determining that neither finalist had the skills or was "the right fit" for the fire district.
"But we had two excellent candidates in the second round," Schroeder said. "Both Brian and George are extremely competent, excellent candidates.
Following the interviews, according to CAFD board chair Jim Langenbrunner, Fritsinger withdrew from consideration.
That threw the decision making process "for a loop," Schroeder said, noting that the board was already deliberating when Fritsinger withdrew.
The board held a special meeting June 3 and voted to offer the job to Esbensen, who is currently going through contract details with the search firm hired by the fire district. Schroeder, who is retiring on June 26, feels good about the choice. But he's not taking anything for granted.
"Once the agreement is signed and we have a start date, then I will take a deep breath and go 'yeah, we're there,'" Schroeder said.
Hopes that the new chief/CEO hire would overlap with the outgoing chief have "evaporated," Schroeder said, adding that CAFD assistant chief Roger Waters will take over until the new chief starts work once Schroeder is gone.
The Cloquet Area Fire District covers member communities Cloquet, Scanlon, Perch Lake and Brevator and also provides structural fire protection under contract with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The total area covered spans 170 square-miles.
