Owatonna Fire Department is proud to announce that Paid-on-Call Firefighter Mitchell (Mitch) Terpstra has been promoted to Fire Equipment Operator, effective July 28, 2025. As a Fire Equipment Operator, Mitch’s responsibilities will include driving and operating fire trucks at incident scenes.
Mitch joined the Fire Department in 2019 and has spent the past six years contributing to the department as a paid-on-call firefighter. Prior to Owatonna, he was a volunteer firefighter for the Villard Fire Department for four years. Mitch was honored as Firefighter of the Year in October 2023 at a banquet hosted by the Owatonna Exchange Club.
“Owatonna Fire is excited to add Mitch to our full-time roster and look forward to his contributions as a fire equipment operator,” said Ed Hoffman, Fire Chief.