Dassel Fire Department
A burning house, a tragic car accident, a serious medical emergency – no one wants these situations to happen, but when they do, it’s good the Dassel Volunteer Fire Department is there to help.
The Dassel firefighters respond to calls covering 125 square miles, including the cities of Dassel, Darwin, and Kingston, along with the surrounding townships of Collinwood, Dassel, Ellsworth, Darwin, and Kingston.
There are openings for six new members. Typically, the department hires in January and July. Anyone interested in joining can apply at Dassel City Hall. For questions, call the fire station at (320) 275-3260.
The newest members (those serving five years or less) include Ben Aho (two years), Mike Enerson (four years), Chad Ardoff (four years), Mike Hansen (four years), Zach Holm (four years), Patrick Lorentz (five years), Andy Nelson (three years), DJ Ohm (five years), and Neil Peterson (three years).
Some of the members have served for 15 years or more, including Greg Nelson (15 years), Kurt Mortenson (21 years), Dennis Johnson (16 years), David Johnson (17 years), James Hughes (16 years), Dale Grochow (27 years), Brian Gillman (16 years), Keith Day (16 years), and Kevin Carlen (16 years).
A few of the newly retired members include Douglas Bollman, Ron Rauschendorfer, and Dave Grochow. Although they’re not full members of the department, they still respond to calls occasionally. They are sometimes needed during the day, for example, when other firefighters are not in the area.
No matter how long the firefighters have served, however, they’ve all contributed to the well-being of the community.
In 2010, the department responded to a total of 216 calls. The majority of them, 154, were medical-related emergencies. There were also 10 structure fires, 10 vehicle accidents with injuries, and 42 miscellaneous calls.
So far in 2011 (as of the beginning of June), the firefighters have responded to 80 calls.
The department purchased a new pumper truck last year, which has been working well, according to assistant chief David Johnson. The truck is a 2010 Spartan Metro Star custom equipped by Custom Fire of Osceola, WI for $486,000.
The city paid $150,000 down and received a USDA loan for $336,000 for the remainder.
Some of the equipment installed in the new pumper includes a defibrillator, air packs, a specialty chain saw, and upgrades that have been made to nozzles.
The fire station phone number is (320) 275-3260, but for emergencies, dial 911. The mailing address for the fire hall is PO Box 56, Dassel, MN, 55325. The e-mail address is dasselfire@dassel.com.
Dassel Volunteer Fire Department 2011
The Dassel Volunteer Fire Department has several dedicated officers and members.
Officers:
• Chief Dale Grochow
• Assistant Chief David Johnson
• Captain Kurt Mortenson
• Assistant Captain Brian Massingham
• Lieutenant Jon Trotter
• Training Officer Dennis Johnson
• Safety Officer/Treasurer Brian Gillman
• Secretary Chad Ardoff
Members:
• Ben Aho
• Kevin Carlen
• Keith Day
• Mike Enerson
• Mike Hansen
• Zach Holm
• James Hughes
• Pat Lorentz
• Andrew Nelson
• Greg Nelson
• DJ Ohm
• Neal Peterson
• Jim Putnam
• Chad Terpstra
• Erin Tormanen
