Pictured left to right:Chief Jason Culberson and Chief Don Hedrick
Throughout the country, there’s a well-known rivalry between police and fire departments. In Rapid City, though, any competitiveness between these two departments is overshadowed by a spirit of cooperation and a shared vision for serving the people of this city.
Police Chief Don Hedrick said that, of course, there’s friendly gibes between these two groups of first responders, but the mutual respect between these men and women is the foundation of their shared mission of service.
Fire Chief Jason Culberson surmises that this spirit of excellence comes from a deep desire of the people of Rapid City to support each other. “I’m always so impressed by the kindness and generosity of this community,” he said. “Rapid City just seems to be a great mix of good, solid people who want to help each other.”
Chief Hedrick agreed. “We have an amazing community. I think the first responders here receive a lot of support from the people whom we serve.” Chief Hedrick also praised his officers. “I love working with these dedicated police officers. They’re out there doing a very difficult job at times, and I’m just thankful that we have good folks who are willing to do such a tough job.”
Rapid City, these two chiefs said, is lucky to have some of the highest caliber first responders in the country. Chief Culberson said that the public might be surprised by the breadth of training his staff has. “It’s not just about firefighting. They’re also all medical professionals,” he said. “We have people in our department who speak nationally and are the experts in their field.”
Chief Hedrick added, “Our officers are the 24/7 caretakers of our community. A lot of the work that we do comes down to social issues; working with individuals to get them out of crisis. That, a lot of times, comes down to building connections, building rapport and building trust.” And trust is something that the people of Rapid City can count on when it comes to these two groups of first responders.
Rapid City Fire Department
10 Main Street, Rapid City,SD 57701
rcgov.org/departments/fire-department
Rapid City Police Department
300 Kansas City Street, Suite
rcgov.org/departments/police-department
302, Rapid City, SD 57701