By Sara Strong
Besides being a member of the Luverne Fire Department for 25 years, Kurt Kester was chief for five. He retired this year, confident the department is in good hands.
He said, "I really liked it all, but it got to be more work than fun, so I stepped down to let the younger people take over."
New chief Don Deutsch said, "I had the pleasure of being a member with Kurt for 22 years."
Besides Deutsch, other experienced firefighters like Steve Wynia and Tim Anderson also moved up the ladder.
Deutsch calls Kester a good leader, but beyond that, a good friend, who made the work fun.
The firefighting business has evolved through Kester’s time in the department. When he started, he wore a rubber coat and hip boots on calls. Now, the protective gear, including masks, makes battling a blaze easier on the crew and more efficient for the property.
To keep up with training, weekly drills include more topics than ever: hazardous material handling, grain bin rescues, ladder work and accident extraction, to name a few.
But, as much as some aspects changed, the job stresses stayed the same.
Kester had to take each fire call seriously. "The biggest fear is of hurting or losing a member of the department or a citizen getting hurt," Kester said, noting that a couple fatal fires in Luverne were difficult on the entire department.
"This is a small community, and there’s a real good chance that the fire will involve a friend or relative of a department member."
Fire prevention efforts and education are more a part of the department than ever.
"We’ve had very good luck with fire prevention and opening up the department to kids. Parents come up to us for about a month after, asking, ‘What did you do to my kids?’ because they all go home and check the smoke detectors batteries and see where they are and [talk about evacuation plans]."
Keeping the department up to regulations and well-trained was a source of pride for Kester, and it earned the department a great deal of respect.
"The city of Luverne has supported us for as long as I can remember," he said.
Kester said the actual act of putting out flames is a true science. For example, he said it’s more effective to try to "push" flames out of a burning building. Instinct might tell people to hose down a building through a window, but if the fire is contained near the window, it would be more effective to go through the building and spray water toward the window.
Avoiding excessive water damage is one of the most difficult aspects of firefighting.
"The best times are training people who haven’t been at a live fire before. I liked to stand back and watch their faces instead of the fire," Kester said.
When he became chief, Kester relinquished some of the standard duties to lead the department.
The fire chief is in charge of the instant command system, wherein the chief observes the overall picture of a fire and makes tactical decisions based on what he sees.
The big blazes are now left to his former co-workers in the fire department, but Kester hasn’t turned in all his badges. He is still busy as a sergeant with Sheriff’s Department, but is getting used to some extra free time.
For now, when Kester hears a call, he’s relieved he doesn’t have to go out in the cold in the middle of the night, but he said, "My heart will still jump a little when I hear a pager."