Hovland Volunteer Fire Department celebrates 50 years of service

The Hovland Volunteer Fire Department will celebrate its 50th anniversary Aug. 15. Over the past five decades, the department has grown from humble beginnings into a well-equipped organization providing fire and emergency medical services along Minnesota’s North Shore.

Orvis Lunke, one of the department’s founding members, moved to Cook County in 1970 to work for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Although he was unfamiliar with the area when he accepted the job, he quickly came to appreciate the outdoor opportunities the North Shore offered.

One day, while working, Lunke was approached by a state fire instructor who encouraged him to start a fire department, as there was little fire protection between Grand Marais and Grand Portage.

“I think he came there because the DNR had some fire equipment, but it was for wildland fires, not for structure fires,” Lunke told WTIP. “We got called for all the structure fires, even though we didn’t really have the equipment to work on them.”

The department began with two pickup trucks equipped with 90-gallon water tanks. Lunke and another firefighter relied on garden hoses and a small centrifugal pump to battle fires.

Lunke recalled being under-equipped as a key challenge for the department and watching homes burn because firefighters did not have the equipment needed to save them.

The department eventually acquired a 1942 Ford fire truck from Minneapolis, along with surplus turnout gear, hoses and nozzles donated by supporters in Scandia who were replacing their own equipment.

Over the next two decades, the department steadily upgraded its equipment.

“It improved immensely with the air packs that we got, all the turnout gear, helmets,” Lunke said. “It seemed like all that equipment had really improved.”

Those improvements required fundraising. So the department organized raffles and pancake breakfasts.

“There were a couple local people that were really spark plugs, and one was a woman by the name of Lois Ableman,” Lunke said. “She went out and did a lot of work, kept things going.”

Lunke said serving on the department required a significant time commitment, particularly for training. Long stretches without emergency calls sometimes made it difficult to keep volunteers engaged.

“The one thing that spurred people on was when we had a fire,” Lunke said. “When there was action, it seemed like everybody wanted to volunteer and show up.”

Lunke retired in 2000 and plans to attend the anniversary celebration.

The Hovland Department Today

The spirit of volunteerism continues to drive the Hovland Volunteer Fire Department.

This year, the department added four emergency medical responders, who completed training with North Shore Health EMS Director Karla Pankow, as well as four new firefighters.

“This year we also were able to add a significant amount of medical equipment,” Emergency Medical Service Captain Ashleigh Schiffman told WTIP.

Among the additions is a medical response van acquired from North Shore Health.

“I feel like volunteer firefighters, you know, of course, don’t necessarily get the credit that they deserve all the time,” Schiffman said, “but it is a huge commitment.”

Schiffman began her emergency services career with the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, which sponsored her EMT training. After she and her husband moved to Hovland, she joined the Hovland department.

“It’s a little bit of everybody, right?” Schiffman said. “So it’s a little bit of anybody that wants to help the community.”

The Hovland Volunteer Fire Department’s 50th anniversary celebration will be held Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Hovland Fire Hall.

WTIP spoke to Ashleigh Schiffm and Orvis Lunke, the audio of those conversations can be found below.

Josh Hinke July 27, 2026