The City of Minneapolis has been the flash point for the civil unrest that has erupted across the country in the wake of a video going viral showing the killing of an unarmed African-American man, George Floyd, at the hands of a city police officer on Memorial Day.
Peaceful daytime protests against police brutality have given way to riotous unrest and clashes with police in the evenings in cities all over the country. The violence first exploded in Minneapolis last week with widespread looting and arson, including Minneapolis police abandoning the 3rd Precinct just before rioters who had surrounded the building set it on fire.
Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel recently spoke with Firehouse Editor in Chief Peter Matthews on the "Today on Firehouse" podcast to discuss a wide variety of topics, including the recent unrest and the steps he and his department are taking to continue their mission of protecting life and property.
"For me, I grew up in the city, and to see some of these neighborhoods being impacted by what we're going through today has been very, very hard to watch," Chief Fruetel told Matthews. "We all have in our communities these social and economic stressors, and we see those impacted by these type of events. It really does sadden you a bit, to be honest with you."
Chief Fruetel uses his time on the podcast to talk about how the department began preparing for the public reaction to Floyd's death right away when the video went viral. The chief and his officers formed task forces and allocated resources, including dedicated engine and ladder companies, to respond to incidents related to any civil unrest while also keeping an eye on the everyday "bread and butter" incidents that could happen around the city.
"You can't take your eye off the bogie, and that's the city," Chief Fruetel said. "You're going to be focused on certain areas, but you still have the rest of the city to run because that never stops and it never sleeps. We still had some runs like EMS to take care of in those areas. However, there was a bit of a bend in the run curve when this event happened. Some of our EMS events went down a little bit and some of our other calls that we normally get day to day were reduced."
Amid all the chaos and confusion during the unrest, including a spate of fires that crews could not battle because of safety concerns and an inability to get close to the fireground because of massive crowds of people, Chief Fruetel made it a point to praise the dedication of his people to their mission and their city.
"The one thing I've been focused on is my people," the chief said. "That's what makes this thing run. You know, you ride in on your white horse and you throw on your white coat and your helmet and you think you're going to change the world, well, you're not. You're not going to change it alone."
"It's so important to always have your folks ready to go."
Click here to check out Chief Fruetel's entire hour-long conversation with Peter Matthews, which also covers other major incidents in Minneapolis such as the horrific 2007 I-35 bridge collapse and what Fruetel went through as the on-scene incident commander that day.
