• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Subscribe
Program Guide
Watch Live

CCX Media

Skip NavigationMenu
  • News
    • Close
        • CCX News
          • CCX News Home
          • News Stories
            • CCX Daily Newscast
          • CCX Media Schools
        • Feature Segments

          • Business Matters
          • School Spotlight
          • Standout Student
          • Weekend Showcase
          • Newsmakers
        • News Tip

          Send us a story idea or news tip!
          Facebook Instagram Twitter
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
        • Apple News
    • Close
  • Sports
    • Close
        • CCX Sports
          • CCX Sports Home
          • Sports Tips
          • Hall of Fame
          • Upcoming Event Coverage
          • Play of the Week
        • Sports Coverage

          Adapted SportsAdditional SportsBaseballBasketballFootball
          GymnasticsHockeyLacrosseSoccerSoftball
          Swimming & DivingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyballWrestling
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter Instagram
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
          Shop/Order
    • Close
  • Cities
    • Close
        • CCX Cities
          • CCX Cities Home
          • Cities Stories
          • In The Community
          • Our Town’s Story
          • Community Resources
          • CCX Media Schools
          • City Meetings
        • Your City

          Brooklyn Center Local News and Events
          Brooklyn Park MN Local News and Events
          Crystal
          Golden Valley
          Maple Grove
          New Hope
          Osseo
          Plymouth
          Robbinsdale
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
    • Close
  • Create
    • Close
        • CCX Create
          • CCX Create Home
          • Channels
          • Resources
          • Meet The Create Team
          • CCX Create Virtual Tour
        • Get Creative

          • Launch Your Creative Vision with CCX Create
          • Free Classes
          • Contact Us
          • Polka Spotlight
          • Diversity Minute
        • RueShare

          • Member Login
          • Member Guide
        • Social Media

          Facebook Twitter Instagram
          Watch Live
          CCX1 | CCX2 | CCX3
    • Close
  • Subscribe
  • Program guide
  • Watch Live

Brooklyn Park Fire Department Wants New Digs To Help Continue Big-City Service With a Small-Town Feel

9:31 AM | Monday, October 23, 2023

Brooklyn Park Firefighter Max Bielefeld said he likes his department most because of the balance that exists in few other places.  The department has just shy of 50 sworn firefighters on staff, and they handle more than 10,000 calls a year in the state’s sixth-largest city.

“We have the ability to really build relationships with everyone from the bottom to the top within the structure and not just get kind of lost at a station somewhere else,” said Bielefeld, who works on one of the engine companies for the city. “We get to do a lot of those big-city things but also still have a very small department feel.”

Brooklyn Park Fire Department

Brooklyn Park Fire Department crews respond to more than 10,000 calls a year.

“We look for that population to continue to grow, especially with it being the sixth-fastest growing city in the state,” said Fire Chief Shawn Conway. “We do and are planning for that to be over 100,000 (residents).” 

Responders out of the Central Fire Station on 85th Avenue get more than a dozen calls on an average day, and Conway said about 71 percent of those are medical calls. He said about a fifth of his firefighters are also paramedics. But he said the training that goes into what his firefighters do day in and day out is what sets his department apart from others.

“We have people who are leaders within the community in our fire department, and they are supported,” said Conway. “It’s not just a matter of running calls and saying ‘I’m a firefighter.” There’s a personal aspect to how we’re serving the community, and that is demonstrated by our daily service.”

Conway did say the city could use some state support in its efforts to build a new Central Fire Station, and that’s why city leaders have joined him in asking for more than $12 million as part of the state bonding package for next year. Conway just came into the job earlier this year, after the retirement of former chief, John Cunningham. Cunningham long pushed for updates to the department’s facilities.

Brooklyn Park Fire Department Central Station

Brooklyn Park city leaders join fire department administrators in calling for state money to help build a new Central Fire Station.

“There’s no way we can serve our communities and our surrounding communities the way we do without the support of the mayor, the city council, the city manager, our different departments and divisions within the city,” he said. 

The current Central station is about 30 years old, and Conway says many of its features are out of date with current safety and health standards for first responders. Many requirements now call for rinsing out hoses and for certain exhaust emission standards in confined spaces to better protect against higher risks of cancer for first responders.

He also wants to build a station better suited for the full-time firefighter model, which he says the current building was not built for.

“Our department is looking to cut seconds, not minutes. Our hope and our goal is to be able to respond to any emergency in the city of Brooklyn Park within that six- to eight-minute time frame,” he said. “We are going to need to change some of the models within the station, the configurations, to where the apparatus and the living quarters are and the bedrooms as well.” 

These changes could help continue the work of firefighters like Bielefeld.

“We’re kind of in the bad-day business, unfortunately,” he said. “Typically we’re the people that are going to get called and try to take that bad day and make it something better.”

Sponsored
Rusty Ray, reporting

Brooklyn Park

Cities Stories

Related Stories

Golden Valley A Home For Artists:  Art has found a home in Golden Valley, particularly at the… Read More
Maple Grove Fire-Rescue Welcomes New Fire Chief:  Maddison Zikmund stepped into the role as fire chief… Read More
2025 Maple Grove Senior High School Commencement:  2025 Maple Grove High School Commencement CCX… Read More
2025 Osseo Senior High School Commencement:  2025 Osseo Senior High School Commencement CCX Media… Read More
2025 Park Center Senior High School Commencement:  2025 Park Center Senior High School… Read More
District 279 Foundation Invest in Youth Celebration – May 4, 2025:  A special event recognizing… Read More

Footer

NAVIGATE

  • CCX Media
  • NEWS
  • SPORTS
  • CITIES
  • CREATE
  • Job Opportunities
  • Meet the CCX Media Team
  • ABOUT CCX MEDIA
  • Annual Programming Reports
  • CABLE COMMISSION

SUBSCRIBE

Get email updates for daily story previews. “Week in Review” video links, and programming previews.

Subscribe Today

CONNECT

HAVE A NEWS TIP? CALL OUR TIPLINE AT:  763-533-1710
Send us story ideas and comments!
Get in touch with us
  CCX MEDIA     SPORTS
 NEWS                SPORTS
SPORTS.           SHOP/ORDER

LOCATION

CCX Media
6900 Winnetka Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

Main Phone:  763-533-8196

CCX Media serves the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, including Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.
Copyright © 2025 CCXMedia | All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement
Web Design and Development by CEL Marketing PR Design and BizzyWeb | Log in