Richfield, MN

Every journey, both literal and figurative, starts with a single step. Mike Dobesh has taken millions of steps through his career in the fire service and on January 12 it led him to being named the Richfield Fire Department’s (RFD) new chief.  

“Whether it was the COVID-19 pandemic or staff transitions in the Fire Department, Mike has dealt with a lot since starting as acting chief six months ago,” declared City Manager Katie Rodriguez. “He has managed the transition well and his focus has always been on the department’s mission and his team. Former Fire Chief Kewitsch was always a trusted advisor for me personally and I believe Mike will continue in that role, as well.”

Dobesh’s journey to becoming Richfield’s fire chief started in 1996 as a paid-on-call firefighter for the City of St. Louis Park. While there, he was promoted to career firefighter in 1998 and battalion chief in 2004.

In 2012, he made his way to the RFD by being selected as the department’s assistant fire chief. During the summer of 2020, he was thrust into the role of acting fire chief before assuming the role permanently on January 12, 2021 following the approval of his promotion by the city council.

As assistant fire chief, it was Dobesh’s responsibility to ensure fire crews were equipped with the necessary tools and training to get the job done, which can be a challenging for a department that responds to more than 4,000 calls a year.

“Over the summer, Mike really stepped up as acting fire chief when the community needed him most,” said Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez. “While the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, he showed steady leadership that kept Richfield healthy and safe. As fire chief, we are sure he will keep the department operating at a high level for years to come.”   

One of the aspects of his tenure as assistant fire chief that he would like to continue is an emphasis on collaboration.

For the past nine years, Dobesh and former Fire Chief Wayne Kewtisch led the department and made decisions in tandem, and encouraged the department to be leaders in the field of fire service.

“The fire service has changed a lot and continues to change as more research and data about the services we offer becomes available,” stated Dobesh. “I have always touted the benefits of fire science and how it can improve outcomes for the residents we serve.”

One of the department’s recent additions based on cardiac survivability data was the EleGARD system. The new piece of equipment is a patient positioning device that elevates a patient’s head and thorax during CPR and has shown to dramatically increase the chances of survivability following a cardiac event.

He is convinced that dozens of residents are alive today because of this addition to the RFD. 

Dobesh, like his predecessor, likens the RFD’s greatest strength to a special operations military unit.

“With only six or eight firefighters working on each shift we do not have the numbers to overwhelm a situation, like other departments, but like a special forces unit we can show up and do great work as reinforcements from our mutual aid partners come in behind us,” explained Dobesh. “Our goal is to put a highly-effective, highly-trained fire operations unit into service who deliver high-level results.”

Right now and into the future, Dobesh is prioritizing succession planning for his personnel so the department can remain on strong footing for decades to come and community engagement to heighten residents’ knowledge about the services the RFD offers.

Through it all, he plans on accomplishing all of it with the same level of zeal he has had since he joined the fire service.

“Ever since I responded to my first medical call as a firefighter back in 1996, I knew this was the job for me,” remembered Dobesh. “I have the same enthusiasm for it 25 years later and it is my hope that I can instill that same passion in Richfield’s fire personnel as I lead them into the future.”