Mayer Fire Department
Mayer Fire Department chief, Rod Maetzold, has seen many advances and changes in his 40 years of service with the department. The one thing that has remained the same, however, is this loyal department’s commitment to the community.
Maetzold noted that the training requirements have continued to change and increase over time. When Maetzold first joined the department, members were literally thrown into the fire, which is different from the rigorous trainings fire department members must participate in now.
“We didn’t have the training requirements when I first was a member that we do now. It was basically on-the-job training – you went to a call – you learned,” Maetzold said.
The department now has two training officers who organize and implement department trainings, which occur one time a month, aside from the regular fire department monthly meetings.
Each department member is also required to complete firefighter I and first responder courses in his or her first two years of membership.
Maetzold noted that members must complete four first responder courses and one ladder training yearly among other trainings, including in-house training and burns training.
“We also have practice fire training in which abandoned homes and buildings may be burned to provide training to the firefighters,” Maetzold said.
During the winter months, the department focuses on in-house trainings, Maetzold added.
The department also has five members who are EMT certified and one paramedic, who is employed by Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia.
The type of calls the fire department has responded to has changed over the course of time as well, with the majority of the calls now being medical.
But that has not always been the case, Maetzold recalls.
“We had more fire calls back then, and now we see far more medical calls. Most towns had their own ambulances, and Watertown had a hospital. When people got sick, most people drove in (to the hospital),” Maetzold said.
Maetzold also noted that the increase in vehicles on the roads and more people driving are most likely factors in the increase in medicals calls, as well.
In 2010, the Mayer Fire Department responded to 76 calls, with about two-thirds of those being medical calls, Maetzold said.
Besides responding to emergency situations, and attending meetings and trainings, the department also engages in fire prevention and safety activities.
For example, during fire prevention week in October, elementary students from Zion Lutheran School come to the fire station for a tour and to discuss safety with some of the firefighters.
Although these trainings and safety activities are important, they can also present a problem.
The changes in training requirements and the commitment versus people’s busy schedules affects people’s decision to serve on the fire department, Maetzold noted.
The Mayer Fire Department currently has 27 members, with a full roster at 30 members.
“For a long time, we were down in membership – at 16 members, but with people moving in, it fills the roster and helps with membership,” Maetzold said.
Maetzold remembers, in his early years of fire department service, being a member of the fire department was just “the thing to do” and was a social activity.
“If you lived in town, you joined the fire department; and back then, being on the fire department was more of a social thing to do – a ‘night out,’” Maetzold said.
And it still seems the “thing to do” for the Maetzold family, as Maetzold has three sons who are also members of the Mayer Fire Department.
The Mayer Fire Department is equipped with the necessary up-to-date equipment and trucks, including individual gear and lockers for each firefighter, two pumpers, two tankers, two grass rigs, a rescue truck and equipment truck and a boat.
The Mayer Fire Department, which is the smallest fire district in Carver County because of its proximity to surrounding communities, covers the city of Mayer and portions of Watertown, Hollywood, Camden and Waconia townships.
Members include Rod Maetzold, Rich Cohrs, Bob Carlson, Tom Stifter, Pat Esser, Jon Maetzold, Andy Maetzold, Andrew Herd, Wayne Snow, Joshua McIntosh, Adam Maetzold, Martin Seltz, Myron Taylor Jr., Brent Hilk, Scott Thiesen, Kevin Nace, Jeffrey Jackson, Jeffrey Vollmer, Nathan Hoese, Daniel Lueth, Michael Mclain, Erick Boder, Nate McNeilly, Steve Eggiman, Tom Mattson, Zach Stifter, Todd Johnson, and first responder Debbie Hill.
