Keute retires from fire department

Served 24 years, was captain for

Engine Company No. 1

BY SARA SYVERSON

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Henry Keute, of New Ulm, said it was time to throw in the towel.

In early January of this year, Keute retired from 24 years of service to the New Ulm Fire Department. Keute served as captain of Engine Company No. 1 for the past seven years . He also served as lieutenant.

"I miss it already," said Keute, "It doesn't feel right not getting a 6 p.m. test (equipment test) or missing a step before bed by not putting the pager in the charger at night."

Keute, who has been employed at AMPI in New Ulm for the past 24 years in maintenance, felt that a major determining factor in his retirement was a change in his residence. Last year his family moved to the other side of the Beussman Bridge, making his drive to the fire station a little longer than his previous home.

"By the time I'd get to the station the trucks were already gone," said Keute, "It was like Johnny come lately."

Firefighting changed through the years.

Twenty-four years ago, Keute wore rubber coats and fire boots for fire fighting, and he would get the fire call over the telephone. Now, a fire fighter dresses in Nomax (fire retardant material) coat and pants and receives the fire call on a pager.

New technology like the infrared cameras help make firefighters work more effectively than in the past, said Keute. The infrared camera can see through smoke, and it can also detect hot or cold objects.

Firefighters now rely on the self-contained breathing apparatus devices and personal alert systems that will sound and alert other fire fighters if a fighter remains still for approximately 20 seconds.

When Keute joined the fire department, it used water to extinguish fires. Now firefighters use chemistry of investigating the ignition, fuel and oxygen sources of a fire to help them put out the fires.

Training has also become more intense, Keute said, which is necessary because of the multitude of new types of construction materials.

"We used to have 750-gallon per-minute pumpers,"said Keute, "Now we have 1,250-gallon per-minute pumpers. Fire trucks are bigger now and they have enclosed cabs."

Keute recalled how he and the other fire fighters battled fires in the coldest and hottest weather of the year.

They responded to fires when it was 20 below zero in the winter or 102 degrees in the summer, Keute said.

The rye mill fire, Wagon Wheel West fire, the Filzen fire near Clear Lake and Seim's Bargain Center fire in Lafayette were some of the blazes he remembered fighting .

Fatigue frequently proved to be a challenge for Keute.

"To keep going when you needed some sleep or food," said Keute, "When you'd have to work a full day and then go fight a fire all night ... then you'd have to go back to work the next day."

Keute's employer always supported his work on the fire department.

Fellow firefighters offered camaraderie as well expertise in firefighting techniques.

"There wouldn't be a one (member of the fire department) that I wouldn't be afraid to work with or be afraid to trust my life with," said Keute, "I feel proud that I got to serve with the rest of the people on the fire department. New Ulm has an excellent and dedicated fire department."