Photo by Jessica Stewart / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

St. Joseph Fire Department chief candidate Perry Guido, of Omaha, Neb., talks with retired fire Chief Jack Brown Thursday night at City Hall. Mr. Brown met the two out-of-town candidates for the first time Thursday. All five candidates met with the public at the reception.

Braving the flames of a fire may have seemed easier than the intense day of tours and forums the five candidates for St. Joseph Fire Department chief went through Thursday.

Following a closed question and answer session with fire and city personnel, the candidates took an hour to answer the public’s questions. From 3 to 4 p.m. several law enforcement and fire department employees, as well as citizens, voiced their questions and concerns to the men.

What began as six candidates, including three local men, was down to five by Thursday’s forum, held at City Hall. Ron Early from Virginia dropped out of the running a few weeks ago after accepting another position.

This left Chuck Perry from Independence, Mo.; Perry Guido, of Omaha, Neb.; and local candidates Mike Dalsing, Dennis Dornhoffer and John Q. Nelson.

Following a brief introduction, the men were grilled with questions regarding what may be their next position.

The candidates addressed their priorities for the department as well as their own strengths and weaknesses.

“This city has a big risk with the amount infrastructure and old, historic buildings,” Mr. Perry said. “Proper training, not pointless training, is needed to keep incidents from occurring at those locations, and if it does, then we would also be trained to handle it.”

Mr. Perry, a captain with the Independence Fire Department, also plans to take a look at the level of emergency medical services (or EMS) certifications within the department and would possibly increase that number within the firefighters. Currently the Independence Fire Department is 100 percent emergency medical technician or (EMT) certified, Mr. Perry said.

Mr. Dornhoffer makes building new and repairing current fire stations a top priority on his list.

“We have to have good working and living conditions for the men so they can be in the shape they need to take care of the city,” Mr. Dornhoffer said.

Mr. Dalsing would like to improve public education within the department.

“We have a growing Hispanic population within the community and a lot of them are uneducated about fire safety or don’t speak English,” Mr. Dalsing said. “We need to fix the language barriers and build upon fire education to the kids in schools.”

He also wants to see the public educated in the areas of new construction and safety devices for the home, such as sprinklers.

With his experience as the interim fire chief, Mr. Nelson has a few priorities.

“I don’t think in terms of weakness,” Mr. Nelson said. “I see ways to improve and our disaster services is one area for improvement.”

Mr. Nelson hopes to elaborate on the city’s current disaster plan in the event of a major weather or natural disaster as well as change the current management system as it exists within the department.

The issue of the current emergency management director position being a part-time spot under the direction of the Fire Department was also thoroughly discussed with a majority of the candidates hoping to make it a full-time position.

The candidates, alongside their wives, had several other events scheduled for Thursday including facility and city tours and public mixers.

Megan Tilk can be reached

at megantilk@npgco.com.