By Doug Nelson, State FIre Marshal
I would like to extend our condolences and sympathies regarding two recent losses within the fire service. Fire Chief Brent Nesdahl (Emerado Fire Department) and Bruce Hoeger (Grand Forks Fire Department and State Fire Marshals Office) recently passed away. Our deepest sympathies to their families, friends, and fire departments.
This does bring to mind our Century Code topic this month. North Dakota Century Code 18-05.1, Firefighters Death Benefits states, “The Insurance Commissioner shall pay ten thousand dollars to a deceased firefighter’s survivor upon receipt of a request for payment and evidence of a line of duty death from the fire chief or the fire chief’s designee.” Being prepared and ensuring your fire department and firefighters know this is important. The Insurance Department’s “Request for line of Duty Death Benefit” form can be found here. Please note there may be other forms or information (see the form) that fire chiefs should keep on file for each firefighter.
In partnership with the Insurance Department and NDDOT, the State has an online GIS Fire District Map. We update this map annually based on the responses to the Certificate of Existence. The map can be found on our website or here. Please let us know if you see any updates that need to be made to the map.
Lastly, during this busy time of year, please don’t forget to communicate to your community and fire department to remember vigilance, especially with the many hazards present while we celebrate our various holidays. Be safe and have a Happy Holiday Season!