Frequently Asked Questions

Established in 1970 with volunteer firefighters, the Vadnais Heights Fire Department has evolved over time to meet our community’s changing needs.

The South Fire Station was built in 1993 to support paid on-call firefighters who responded from home or day jobs. In 2010, the North Fire Station was rebuilt as a satellite location during the department’s paid on-call era – helping reduce travel time for firefighters coming from the north side of the city.

As demand grew and the role of firefighters expanded significantly, the department began providing 24/7 duty crew coverage in 2014, starting with 24-hour weekend shifts and select overnight weekday shifts. Remaining weekday evening ​shifts were added in phases over the next few years as additional funding became available, with full 24/7/365 coverage achieved in 2019.

To support centralized operations out of the South Fire Station, all emergency response from the North Fire Station ended in 2022, allowing the facility to serve as additional storage space for vehicles and equipment.

Today, full-time fire captains oversee a team of about 40 part-time firefighters, with additional full-time staff responding alongside them during the day. This allows for efficient, cost-effective approach that delivers fast, reliable response while keeping costs well below what a full-career department would require.

Over the past two decades, researchers have significantly advanced the profession’s understanding of the long-term health risks firefighters face. Further, training and safety standards, operational expectations and the demands emergency response have all grown.

In the 2010s, national guidance on fire station design began reflecting the growing demands and health impacts of 24/7 emergency response — with a much greater emphasis on cancer prevention, sleep health and long-term wellness.

Modern fire stations support firefighter health, safety and readiness by reducing exposure to harmful contaminants, giving crews dedicated areas to rest and recover between calls, and providing enough space to house and quickly maneuver today’s larger vehicles and equipment.

Built more than 30 years ago, the current fire station has not kept pace with how the VHFD operates today. It was designed for limited on-call use. Over the past 12 years, the city has tried to adapt the station by repurposing rooms, closets and systems. But the building has reached its limits. Key challenges include:

• Space constraints. The station is at maximum capacity, with limited room for equipment and staff. In some cases, workspace has been carved out of closets and hallways. The building also lacks proper areas for firefighters to rest, recover and process after difficult calls.

• Health and safety risks for firefighters. The building does not properly separate living areas from vehicle bays and gear storage. Firefighters are routinely exposed to diesel exhaust, smoke residue and other harmful contaminants that can impact their long-term health.

• Operational inefficiencies. Because there is not enough space, some vehicles and equipment must be stored at the North Fire Station – a satellite facility that is now mainly used for storage. In certain emergencies, crews must first drive to the north station to switch vehicles before heading to a call — adding time when every second counts.

• Failing building systems. The HVAC system is outdated and difficult to maintain. Black debris from aging air ducts spreads through the building, plumbing issues leave orange water stains and some sinks are in such poor condition that they are propped up by 2×4’s. These are not minor problems: They reflect systems that are worn out.

The city carefully evaluated whether renovating and expanding the existing station could meet the department's needs. That analysis found that renovation would require gutting the building down to its exterior walls, rerouting utilities and rebuilding large portions of the roof.

The cost of renovation came within $3-6 million of the cost of a new facility while only providing a short-term fix and requiring major additional investment within a decade.

Even then, it would still not fully meet today's needs or provide enough space for future growth. The department would also have to be temporarily housed somewhere else during construction, adding costs and affecting emergency response services.

A new, modern fire station would be built to support how the Fire Department operates today, supporting its 24/7 duty crew model and giving firefighters the space, tools and layout they need to respond quickly and safely. This would help improve firefighter retention and recruitment in a challenging hiring environment where many crews take shifts for departments across the metro area.

The new station would feature:

• Decontamination areas to reduce exposure to harmful contaminants

• Properly sized apparatus bays

• Dedicated living space for firefighters working 24/7 duty shifts, while maintaining full-time careers in both the private sector and within other fire agencies

• Training areas for hands-on preparation

• Wellness and recovery spaces

• Room to grow with the community over the next 50 years

Just as important, a new station would bring all the department’s vehicles, resources, equipment and staff together under one roof. This eliminates the need to travel between locations, which improves response times and ensures crews are ready to respond immediately when the call comes in.

Many firefighters today work shifts across multiple departments to build a full-time career, and they naturally gravitate toward stations that support their health, safety and well-being. When a facility exposes crews to contaminants, lacks space to recover between calls or doesn't reflect modern fire service standards, it becomes harder to attract and keep experienced firefighters — and easier for them to commit to serving somewhere else.

That has real costs for the community. Recruiting and training new firefighters takes significant time and resources, and every experienced firefighter who leaves takes years of hard-earned knowledge with them. Residents benefit most when experienced, well-trained crews are the ones responding to their emergencies.

Expectations, training standards and liability in fire service have all grown significantly over the past two decades. Providing firefighters with a facility that supports today's demands isn't a perk — it's essential to maintaining the level of service Vadnais Heights residents rely on.

The North Fire Station was built as a satellite facility to support an older staffing model where paid on-call firefighters responded from home or work. Since 2022, all emergency response has come from the South Fire Station, with duty crews living and working in the building 24/7.

Today, the North Fire Station, (now the North Service Center) is mainly used for additional vehicle and equipment storage because the South Fire Station doesn't have enough space.

Shifting full-time operations to this location wouldn't solve these challenges. It would require significant investment to convert the building for 24/7 use, and it isn't positioned to serve the entire community as efficiently as the South Fire Station's location.

Additionally, to have operations out of both North and South Stations, the need to expand staffing increases cost of operations. Given the South Station’s location, it is the optimal choice to operate out of.

Modern fire apparatus is larger than the trucks the South Fire Station was built to house in 1993 — and for good reason. Today's fire trucks carry significantly more equipment to meet the wide range of emergencies fire departments now respond to, from structure fires to medical calls, vehicle crashes, hazardous materials incidents and technical rescues.

Fire behavior has also changed. Modern building materials and furnishings burn hotter and faster than they did a generation ago. Where firefighters used to have 20–30 minutes before a structure could collapse, today they often have as little as six. That reality demands better-equipped trucks, more advanced tools and larger water and equipment capacity to respond effectively and safely.

Larger apparatus also reflects national safety standards. Today's trucks include enclosed cabs, updated safety systems and space to store gear properly — reducing firefighter exposure to contaminants and improving crew safety on every call. Building a station sized for today's equipment isn't about wanting bigger trucks; it's about being able to house the tools our firefighters need to protect the community.

Joining another fire department in a neighboring city to avoid the cost of a new station is another option that was considered.

The reality is that joining another department wouldn't solve the underlying challenge. Vadnais Heights sits in the middle of surrounding communities, so a fire station in our city would still be needed to maintain fast, reliable emergency response for our residents. And the current South Fire Station falls short of the standards any modern fire department — ours or a partner's — would need to operate safely and efficiently.

Beyond that, the Vadnais Heights Fire Department is a source of pride for our community. Our firefighters know our neighborhoods, our streets and our residents. Maintaining our own department means keeping local control over how fire and emergency services are delivered — and preserving the strong connection between our firefighters and the community they serve.

City leaders have been studying its facilities needs and challenges for more than three years. This has been a thorough process that has included building assessments, cost estimates, evaluation of renovation and replacement options, input from fire department leaders and outside experts, and more than 20 public meetings where residents could ask questions and share feedback.

Every year we wait, the problem gets more expensive to solve — and the challenges at the current station continue to affect firefighters every day. Construction costs are rising 5–7% each year and have climbed roughly 50% over the past five years. Delaying the project doesn't make it more affordable; it makes it harder to deliver the same project for the same investment.

At the same time, maintenance on the current station has been deferred to avoid putting significant dollars into a building the city plans to replace. If a new station doesn't move forward, critical repairs will still be needed — costing taxpayers more without solving the underlying problems.

Meanwhile, firefighters continue working in a facility that falls short of what they need to stay healthy, safe and ready to respond when every second counts.

Over the past three years, the city has invested approximately $1 million in planning and development work to understand its facility needs and address the widespread challenges its current facilities create for the Vadnais Heights Fire Department. Those costs include architectural and engineering services, surveying, legal support, public engagement and communications, and other professional services needed to evaluate options, develop plans and prepare the project for future decision-making. This level of investment is typical for a project of this size and complexity.

Before considering a significant public investment, City Council and staff determined it was important to fully understand the condition of the existing facility, evaluate alternatives, develop reliable cost estimates and engage residents in the discussion. The planning work completed to date has helped the city carefully assess its options, refine potential solutions and provide residents with accurate information before any final funding decisions are made.

Planning and evaluation costs are intended to be incorporated into the project's overall financial terms with an initial reimbursement of those costs from the bond proceeds.

The city is focused on re-engaging residents and community members while providing clear, factual information about the proposed plan. This will include:

• Sharing more details about the condition and limitations of the current station.

• Explaining the fire department's staffing model in-depth, as VHFD is made up of a combination of part-time and full-time staff.

• Presenting detailed cost estimates and financing options.

• Creating more opportunities for residents to ask questions and share feedback before future decisions are made.

In June 2026, the City Council voted to rescind its preliminary approval of the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) and bond issuance for the project to recommence the public engagement process.

This action does not mean the city has stopped planning for the future of its fire facilities. Rather, it reflects the Council's desire to re-engage the community before considering the next steps. Years of study have identified significant challenges with the existing Fire Station and evaluated how different options could address the needs of a modern fire department and a growing community. The city wants residents to understand those findings, ask questions, and share their perspectives as the future of the facility is determined.

No. VHFD is taking steps to right-size the department to meet the current needs of the community. This includes adjusting the balance of full-time and part-time staff to ensure appropriate staffing levels and maintain a high level of service.

There are no current plans for VHFD to become an exclusively full-time career fire department.