Agenda - Council - 04/27/1982 - Laserfiche WebLink

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! City of City Hall I Anoka. Minnesota 55303 Fire Department ANOKA 2015 Fimt Avenue (612) 421-6630 March 1982 REFERENCE: Recommendation for Alternate Rum River Bridge i I I I I I I The City of Anoka Fire Dep~rtment furnishes fire protection for 8~ of the City of Ramsey. Thirteen percent (a small portion in the northwest corner of the city) is serviced by the Elk River Fire Department.. That portion of the City of Ramsey lying north of the Burlington Rail- road tracks can be reached, at the present time, by only five access roads; St. Francis Blvd, Sunfish Blvd, R~msey Blvd, Armstrong Blvd and Puma Street. Alternate routes up the east side of the Rum River crossing the river in Andover and to Elk River 'on Highway 169 and returning to Ramsey are time consuming and impractica/ alternate routes for fire and other emergency services. In the event of a fire in the City of Ramsey north of the railroad tracks, all fire emergency vehicles must cross the railroad tracks at one of the primary access routes listed above. This presents a very high degree of risk in that the route to the fire may be blocked by railway traffic. A similar situation existed in Anoka prior to construction of the 7th Avenue underpass and numerous long delays were experienced by this department in responding to emergency alarms. These delays range from only a few seconds to allow a passenger train to pass to several minutes for a long, slow freight and, as we have experienced, 19 minutes while waiting for a parked train to clear the road or highway. I I I I I With rapid responce time for fire equipment so critica/ in successfully combating serious fires and absolutely essential in life saving situations, the present potential for delay in respondi'ng to the northern areas of R~msey is of serious concern to this department. In addition to our concern for the City of Ramsey, a similar situation applies to the Dunham addition of the City of Anoka which is located north of the fair grounds and to the Anoka County Fhir grounds; both these areas con only be reached by crossing the Ferry Street railroad tracks. A tradn delayed responce to this residential area or to the fairgrounds crowded with fairgoers, could have disasterous results. For the reasons as indicated above, it is the recommendation of the Anoka Fire Department and the undersigned that an alternate crossing over the Rum River north of the present r~tlroad tracks be approved. f JACC, D J:' STROUSE