The Monona Fire Department was formed in 1954, providing over 50 years of service to the community of Monona with fire and emergency medical services. The department is a combination department with 6 career firefighter/EMT’s, a full-time Fire Chief, 40 volunteer firefighters and 28 volunteer EMS personnel. Volunteer FF’s respond from home or work, while full-time FF/EMT’s work a 24-hour shift, providing personnel to staff equipment for any type of response.

The City of Monona is a municipality that is landlocked by the City of Madison and other communities. It has a geographic area of approximately 3.5 square miles and a population of about 8,500. The City is served by an excellent water system that provides hydrant water supply in all areas except for the Hwy 12/18 bridge over the Yahara River.

Monona Fire Department currently has 2 engines, a new 95′ platform ladder truck, a heavy rescue squad, an ambulance, and a parade vehicle that was the first engine purchased by the department. The city provides excellent personal protective equipment, pagers, Self Contained Breathing Apparatus and all other equipment needed to provide the best protection while performing a dangerous activity.

The department responds to over 1,000 ambulance calls and 300 to 400 fire calls each year.

Volunteers attend 3 drill sessions each month and special training for specific activities at other times. Training is provided by the state, MATC, and other agencies for command, technical and specialized activities. Training is not specialized to individuals; as volunteers, all members need to be trained in all aspects of operations since not all members will be available for all calls.

Members are drawn from an area that is larger than the Monona city limits and currently has the following boundaries:

• North – Walter St. to Milwaukee St. to Highway 51
• East – Highway 51
• South – Monona City limits / Wisconsin Calumet R.R.
• West – Wisconsin Calumet R.R to Waunona Way

The department is staffed by members drawn from all backgrounds and skills which contributes to effective operations in many areas including construction, electrical, electronics, politics, public relations, truck design, and fire ground operations.

Members are trained as driver/engine operators and back up the full- time staff when they are out on an ambulance run or for additional responses on a fire call.

The Department takes pride in the fact that many volunteer members use their experience to earn full-time positions with many other departments, including City of Madison, Marshfield, Rockford, and Green Bay. This is a great testimonial to the professionalism of the staff and members, in training for a very dangerous profession.

The Monona Fire Department is part of a charter group of fire departments that make up division 115 in the Wisconsin Mutual Aid Box Alarm System. This will provide a coordinated response to major regional incidents that exceed the capabilities of the local department.

The Monona Fire Department is proud to be a part of the community and provides some support to youth sports activities and other civic agencies through annual fundraising activities. The members enjoy the camaraderie of the members and their families through various family activities throughout the year. While it is a dangerous profession for volunteers and career personnel alike, it forges a bond that, for many, makes it an extended family and a support system who assist each other in many ways.

We welcome applications at any time from anyone in the membership area. Membership inquiries can be made by calling 222-2528, by stopping by the station at 5211 Schluter Road during any of our drills on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Tuesdays of each month, or by e-mailing firechief@ci.monona.wi.us.

Thank you to Pizza Oven for allowing us to deliver pizzas on Dec. 22 as a fundraiser for the Monona Fire Association. Our association received 25% of the night's income and all of the tips. Thank you to everyone who placed an order on that evening. We really enjoyed delivering and hope to do another fundraiser with Pizza Oven in the future.