Mike Dalsing named fire chief
New chief is 29-year veteran of the St. Joseph Fire Department
New chief is 29-year veteran of the St. Joseph Fire Department
Mike Dalsing will start working an eight-hour shift for the first time in 29 years.
On Friday, City Manager Vince Capell announced that Mr. Dalsing will take over as the city’s fire chief in September. Mr. Dalsing, 51, is a St. Joseph native and a 29-year veteran of the St. Joseph Fire Department.
“I’m pretty excited about it — of course a little nervous,” Mr. Dalsing said Friday after the news became official. “There’s a lot of responsibility involved, and we’ve got a lot of exciting things going on.”
Soon Mr. Dalsing and the department will buy two new firetrucks and, perhaps more notably, select a site for St. Joseph’s first new fire station in 35 years. Mr. Dalsing also will have to adjust his personal schedule — no more 24-hour shifts.
Mr. Capell said he was fortunate to have five “tremendous” candidates to interview for the job but felt Mr. Dalsing was a good fit for himself, the City Council and the public. He said he didn’t select Mr. Dalsing just because he’s a St. Joseph firefighter.
“He did extremely well in the interview process and gave me an opportunity to select a local candidate,” Mr. Capell said. “... If I believed that the best candidate was from outside St. Joseph, I would’ve selected that person.”
Mr. Dalsing currently serves as a captain for the department and will take over as chief in early- to mid-September, at a salary of $89,000. Interim Chief John Nelson, who also sought the chief job, will remain in place until then.
Mr. Dalsing has a bachelor’s degree in management from Tarkio College, an associate’s degree in fire science from the Community College of the Air Force, has attended the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md., and is a Missouri certified EMT – paramedic. He served 23 years for the Missouri Air National Guard Fire Department, including 10 years as fire chief.
He’s currently president of the St. Joseph Youth Soccer Association and received the 2007 InterServ Service to Youth Award. He is married to Cheryl and has two children, Josh and Kristin.
Joe Blumberg can be reached
at joeblumberg@npgco.com.
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Way to go St. Joe. I have worked with Mike in the past and he has what it takes. You have picked yourself a winner ! !
Posted by jeffandlora on August 16, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)Congratulations Mike, the people at City Hall made the right call on this one!
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