John Townsend, a 20-year veteran of the Hastings Fire Department, was appointed fire chief at the Nov. 2 City Council meeting. Townsend has served as acting fire chief for the past 14 months.

Townsend began his career 20 years ago as a paid, on-call firefighter and emergency medical technician for the City of Hastings and also worked for Allina Ambulance. In 2005, he became a full-time paramedic and firefighter for the City of Burnsville. In 2007, he was hired on full-time as assistant fire chief and fire marshal in Hastings.

“We are very pleased to have John leading our fire department staff and operations,” said Dan Wietecha, Hastings city administrator. “During the past year, John has had extra duties as the acting fire chief, maintaining leadership, updating procedures, and promoting a positive culture for the department.”

The Hastings Fire Department provides Fire and EMS services to the City of Hastings, City of Vermillion, and surrounding townships, and is staffed with 29 paid-on-call and 18 full-time staff.

Townsend has been involved in the Dakota County Special Operations Team, MN Task Force 1, and as a Tactical Paramedic. He has served as a member of MN State Fire Chiefs Association, MN chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators, and the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers.

Townsend replaces Mike Schutt, who served as long-time fire chief until his resignation in 2019.

John Townsend