Big chill for Minneapolis firefighters

Some like it hot -- but not Minneapolis firefighters trying to cool off between fire runs after shedding their heavy protective gear.

That's one reason a City Council panel on Monday approved a big chill for city firefighters, along with a slight cooling trend for other city office workers. The change has been in the works for weeks, but this week's heat wave didn't hurt the cause. The proposal goes to the full council on Aug. 20.

Firefighters will get a whopping 4-degree reduction to 74 degrees in the temperature of firehouses, where they work and live for stretches of 24 or 48 hours at a time. Regular city office workers will get a 1-degree break, to 75 degrees.

The change was sold to the council's regulatory committee as both a safety and morale issue. Firefighters wear gear with a thermal barrier when they head out on nonmedical runs. And what keeps heat out also keeps it in.

"Just donning their personal protective gear could send them into a heat-stressed state because it can raise core body temperatures to dangerous levels," said fire Capt. Colleen Mullen in a written report. When stations aren't cooled sufficiently, firefighters can't cool off between runs to recover physically, she wrote.

Mark Lakosky, president of the firefighters union, put the situation more graphically. "We throw our gear on and we come back from these fires and we're soaked," he said.

At some stations with basements, firefighters would head there for a few extra degrees of coolness.

The city adopted a heating and cooling policy in early 2009 in an effort to cut utility costs and reduce the city's carbon footprint, and Property Services Director Greg Goeke asked workers to give the policy a year. "I went to the firefighters and asked them to be patient," Fire Chief Alex Jackson said.

Firefighters also will get more heat after subzero winter runs -- a 3-degree increase to 68 degrees. The changes apply only to living and office areas. Garages where fire rigs are parked aren't cooled or fully heated.

The new 75-degree policy for office workers puts city offices on par with Hennepin County, which is co-owner of City Hall.

The state cools offices to 76 to 78 degrees, according to the Minnesota Department of Administration.