Minneapolis selects new fire chief

Bonnie Bleskachek was named to become the next chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department on November 7, 2004. If she is confirmed by the Minneapolis City Council next month, Minneapolis will become the third-largest fire department in the country to have a woman chief.

Bleskachek started out as a firefighter with the department in 1989, and has moved up through the ranks over the intervening fifteen years. Most recently, she was a battalion chief managing five fire stations. She has also served as captain, Human Resources Officer, and Deputy Chief of Training.She has been serving as the department's interim chief since mid-June, following the departure of Chief Rocco Forte.

She is a longtime member of WFS, and a founding member of the Minnesota Women Firefighters Association, which created and ran a highly successful training and mentoring program for female firefighter candidates. Bleskachek has a daughter, 10, and a son, 5.