Waln recognized for his 44 years fighting fire

WADENA — During their monthly meeting, the Wadena Fire Department recognized Sam Waln on his 44 years of service milestone.
Waln joined the department on, March 2, 1978.
Waln is still going strong and has no intentions on retiring anytime soon, according to a Wadena Fire Department news release. He has been an instrumental part of the department with holding the fire chief title for around a decade in the early 2000s until 2010. Waln is still one of the first to the fire hall even at 3 a.m. He enjoys mentoring our young firefighters and watching the department evolve in technology over his career.
His biggest passion within the department is teaching people pumping operations and on scene operations in guiding firefighters.
"Sam said the secret to keeping him going all these years is he enjoys firefighting and the family within the fire department," according to the news release.