Duluth Fire Department Appoints First Female Deputy Chief

Congratulations are in order for the new Deputy Chief of the Duluth Police Department Marnie Grondahl.  According to WDIO  Duluth Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj appointed Grondahl to be the next Deputy Chief of Life Safety and Administration.

Grondahl was serving as Interim Deputy Chief since May and also was Fire Marshal for almost 8 years before that. Grondahl said "The department is ever changing and it's a lot different from the very first year I stepped in. [When] there was just kind of breaking ground and not really women in the fire service."

Grondahl began her career as a firefighter and has been with the department for 32 years. She will be replacing Chief Krizaj, who was in the Deputy Chief role until August of this year when he was promoted to Fire Chief. " In her role as Deputy Chief of Life Safety and Administration, Grondahl will lead the Fire Prevention Life Safety Division. The division primarily handles commercial fire inspection, fire investigations and commercial housing."

Lastly Grondahl stated "In the beginning kids didn't even know women could be firefighters, you know, they were like 'wow there's a woman fireman' they used to say. So I mean it's come a long way and it's opening more and more doors for women."