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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Finally, rescue squad has a home of its own

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REGIONAL— The North St. Louis County Rescue Squad has come a long way since its founding way back in 1970. Just ask Frank Hyppa, of Cook, who helped start the volunteer effort 46 years ago. At the time, squad members brought their own equipment to rescue operations or relied on hand-me-downs from law enforcement agencies.

“For our first treasurer’s report, I remember we had $37,” said Hyppa, who was the only original member of the squad on hand on Monday for the dedication of a brand new headquarters, built from a former county public works building in Virginia that had fallen into disrepair.

But thanks to $700,000 in state bonding money and a matching contribution from St. Louis County, the facility was refurbished, providing the first substantial base of operations for the rescue squad since its founding.

The new space gives Rescue Squad volunteers a place to meet and train, and provides critically needed storage space for vehicles and equipment, said squad lieutenant Kurt Erickson. Before the creation of the new facility, many of the squad’s vehicles had to be stored outside or at members’ homes. 

“Having this new space means Rescue Squad volunteers can get the gear they need and respond to emergencies faster,” said Sheriff Ross Litman. “They can have confidence that vehicles will start, even when the temperature is 20 below, and we can expect our equipment to last longer. So we’re very thankful to our partners in St. Paul and our county board for their support.”

The work of the rescue squad has changed over the years. In the past, the squad typically worked to find lost hunters or recover drowning victims. These days, with the growth of outdoor recreation, from snowmobiling to wilderness adventuring, the rescue squad’s mission has become more complicated. The region’s growing trail system, particularly snowmobile trails, now regularly places the public far from traditional roadways, says Hyppa, so when people get themselves in trouble in remote areas, it’s the rescue squad that gets the call.

The proliferation of cell phones, which now allow those in trouble to contact emergency responders instantly, has also significantly increased the frequency of calls for rescue.

This summer has been typical of the growing reliance on the volunteer squad, as members have been called to multiple incidents almost every week. After responding to the fatalities on Basswood last Thursday, the squad was out again on Saturday, locating a lost hiker who had become disoriented due to blowdown, which obscured a hiking trail near Hobo Lake, outside of Ely. While responding to that incident, the squad received a second call, for a young girl with a broken ankle near Tin Can Mike Lake, near Ely, which required carrying the victim over rough portages.

Rescue squad volunteers donated 21,235 hours of their time in 2015, responding to 323 different calls. These included 96 wilderness searches and rescues, 68 water operations, assistance at 119 vehicle accidents, plus miscellaneous medical and other calls.