Sept. 21 -- South Metro Fire Chief Mike Pott plans to retire in March, capping off a 36-year career that began as an on-call firefighter in Lake Elmo.
Pott, 55, submitted his resignation letter this week, saying that the “timing is right, for the department and for me personally, to retire.” His anticipated retirement date is March 24.
Pott has been with South Metro Fire since 1986, when he started as a West St. Paul firefighter. He later became its captain and was appointed South Metro’s second chief in March 2013, after the department’s first chief, John Ehret, retired.
South Metro Fire was formed in 2008, when fire departments in South St. Paul and West St. Paul merged to save money and improve service.
South St. Paul Mayor Jimmy Francis, who is also the fire board’s president, said Pott has been a “quiet, humble leader who understands the intricacies of melding two cities together.”
“There’s the budgets, the emergencies and all the other priorities that go with being a fire chief for two cities,” Francis said. “And he’s done a remarkable job. I see the respect and admiration he has from his department and from both cities.”
Pott said in his resignation letter that although the department has accomplished most of the goals he initially set, “I have recently come to the realization that the list of things to accomplish continues to grow and is never-ending.”
On Thursday, Pott said he gave notice now so that the fire board and the two cities have time to find his successor and allow for a good transition period.
He said he has employees “who have demonstrated the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful” as the next chief.
South Metro Fire operates out of two stations — one in each city — and employs 39 full-time firefighters, unlike many suburbs that rely on paid on-call volunteers. The department’s budget this year is $5.5 million.
Besides fire service, the department also provides basic life-support care and transports for the two cities, which each have about 20,000 residents. South Metro responded to about 6,100 emergencies in 2017, or almost 17 calls each day.
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