It’s a new year, and with it, there are some exciting new changes to announce for our MnFIRE board. The MnFIRE board is comprised of individuals who are passionate about firefighter health and have the fire service experience to match. We’re so grateful that they invest their time, energy and talents into driving our mission forward!

First, we’d like to thank Mark Rosenblum for his five years serving on the MnFIRE board. Mark brought his deep experience serving on the Golden Valley Fire Department and as president of the Minnesota State Fire Department Association (MSFDA) to his role with MnFIRE. We appreciate all he does in retirement to support firefighters in Minnesota, and are grateful he chose to spend half a decade helping further our cause.

We’d also like to welcome Scott Vadnais, Dave Yurczyk and Amber Lage to the board in 2022! We’re looking forward to benefitting from their unique experiences and collaborating to make 2022 the best year for firefighter health and wellness yet. Learn more about them and their service below:

Amber Lage
Amber Lage is the Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the Minneapolis Fire Department, where she has proudly served for over 22 years. Throughout her career, she has held the ranks of firefighter, fire motor operator, captain, staff captain and deputy chief. She is a current board member for the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board where she represents professional firefighters. Though Amber’s specialty is in EMS, she has a genuine dedication to keeping firefighters safe and healthy.

Scott Vadnais
Scott Vadnais has been in the fire service for 32 years. He spent 12 years at the White Bear Lake Fire Department where he served as a paid-on-call paramedic/lieutenant. He was also a paramedic/dispatcher for Healthspan EMS (Allina). He has served with the City of Edina Fire Department since 1997 and is currently a lieutenant. Scott has been the union president of Edina Local 1275 since 2008 and was recently elected president of the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters. He’s also a founding member of Minnesota Task Force 1, the state structural collapse rescue team. Finally, he serves as a service representative for the International Association of Fire Fighters, covering all of Minnesota since 2013.

Dave Yurczyk
Dave Yurczyk served more than 20 years as a volunteer firefighter for Holdingford Fire & Rescue, retiring in 2020. During his time, he was a relief association trustee and training officer. Dave has also been with the MSFDA for a decade, and currently serves as president. He served on the Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board from 2011-2017 and is also a director to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), which represents Minnesota’s nearly 20,000 volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters.

Welcome, and thank you for your service!