Bemidji Fire plans $1 million custom engine, station upgrades

Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood is ordering a custom fire engine that will cost more than $1 million and will not reach the city until next year. Fire Station 1 renovations are moving ahead, including work in the dorm and locker room.

Sherwood appeared on ChatPod July 15 and discussed new training equipment and how the department is functioning more than a year after the storm that hit Beltrami County. Engine 1 is being assembled this year as a specialized build rather than a standard replacement, and Sherwood chose a more expensive model because it better fits the department’s practical needs.

Bemidji Fire covers the City of Bemidji, Wilton, Turtle River and 15 surrounding townships across 522 square miles, with a population of about 35,000. The department operates as a joint fire protection agency for 18 local government units through an agreement between the City of Bemidji and the Bemidji Rural Fire Association, and its 2026 vision calls for four full-time firefighters per shift.

The June 21, 2025, severe thunderstorm derecho brought top winds of 120 mph to Beltrami County and downed several hundred thousand trees, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The State Fire Marshal’s Fire Service Support team responded after Bemidji became overwhelmed, and mutual aid crews staffed local stations for 72 hours while firefighters handled storm damage. More than nine months later, the region was still dealing with the fallout, with millions of trees on the ground and wildfire risk elevated by dry conditions and debris that kept crews busy with controlled burns and aerial surveys.

The station work is tied to outside funding. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office listed a $450,000 federal grant for the Fire Station 1 upgrade, and Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith announced federal funding for Bemidji-area projects in March 2024. Klobuchar visited Fire Station No. 1 on April 2 as part of storm-recovery follow-up.