NEENAH – Early in his career as a firefighter, Neenah-Menasha Fire Chief Kevin Kloehn responded to a home in Menasha for a report of a smoke detector sounding.
Firefighters get those calls frequently, and they often discover the smoke detector has a low battery. Kloehn was expecting nothing more from this call.
“I remember walking up to the door and opening the front door and the flames were rolling up from the basement,” Kloehn told The Post-Crescent. “That was like, ‘Oh shit. That’s not a smoke detector.’ Well, it was, but it was because there was a fire in the basement and it’s rolling up the stairs.”
Kloehn alerted the other units driving to the scene of the severity of the situation and went to attack the fire. The experience has stuck with him ever since.
“It’s one of those lessons as a young officer that you learn — don’t ever expect anything to be routine and don’t lose sight of what your job is,” Kloehn said. “That’ll never happen again. That wasn’t expected, but I should have expected that.”
Kloehn, 54, will retire as Neenah-Menasha fire chief on Jan. 5, culminating a 31-year firefighting career in Menasha, Neenah and Harrison.
His successor, an external candidate, has been selected but hasn’t announced, pending a background check and psychological test.
More:Neenah budget scraps plan for new fire station and opts for remodeling to save $5 million
Kloehn honored as fire chief of the year
Kloehn was recognized in October as fire chief of the year by the Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association for his dedication and leadership in fire inspection and safety.
Adam Dorn, Neenah-Menasha assistant chief of fire prevention/fire marshal, and Capt. Greg Wroblewski, president of Neenah-Menasha firefighters union Local 275, nominated Kloehn for the honor.
“It was pretty cool that they did that,” Kloehn said. “It wasn’t expected, but was a very cool reward for all the support for fire prevention and things that we do here.”
Dorn credited Kloehn for prioritizing funds for public education programs when municipal budgets are tight.
“He made sure that the education to our citizens was paramount,” Dorn said. “Not every chief will do that, but he sees how valuable, how important that is to the community.”
Career spans three decades and three communities
Kloehn was hired as a Menasha firefighter in September 1992. Within one hour of starting work, he was called to a chemical spill at Akrosil.
He was promoted to aerial driver in 1996, lieutenant in 1998 and captain in 2000. He remained captain when the Neenah and Menasha fire departments consolidated in 2003 and advanced to shift commander in 2012 and fire chief in 2016, when he succeeded Al Auxier.
Kloehn also doubled as the part-time fire chief in Harrison from 2008 to 2016.
Len Vander Wyst, the Neenah-Menasha fire chief in 2008, suggested Kloehn apply for the Harrison position to gain administrative experience.
“I thought he was kidding,” Kloehn said, “but he wasn’t, so I looked into it and got hired there. The experience was invaluable.”
Neenah-Menasha fire merger improved safety
Kloehn was president of the Menasha firefighters union when the Neenah and Menasha fire departments consolidated in 2003. He supported the move then, and he supports it now.
He described the merger as “one of the best things that I’ve ever been part of” because it improved firefighter safety.
As separate departments, Neenah or Menasha could send six to eight firefighters to a large fire, which was problematic, Kloehn said. As one department, it can send 15 to 17 firefighters to a large fire.
The merger also yielded savings on equipment and staffing. The department has 68 employees (63 firefighters and five administrators), which is the same number as in 2003.
Kloehn reflects on technological advances and major incidents
The fire service has advanced a lot since Kloehn started 31 years ago.
The cabs on fire trucks were open back then, compared to the enclosed, climate-controlled cabs of today. Fire reports still were done by typewriter in 1992, and hydrant locations were marked on a paper map with red stickers. Now records-management programs can track and illustrate fire calls and hydrants with a few keystrokes on a computer.
“I remember the first thermal-imaging camera,” Kloehn said. “That thing was so big and heavy. Now you can clip it onto your jacket it’s so small.”
Among the significant events Kloehn has witnessed are the 2018 Brin Building fire and the 2021 Whiting Paper Mill fire, both in Menasha, and the 2021 Neenah Foundry fire.
Kloehn also was among the firefighters to save a snowmobiler who broke through the ice on the Fox River near Jefferson Park in the 1990s.
“I can almost tell you minute by minute what happened that day,” he said. “He was clinging on before we pulled him out of there.”
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke.