Longtime firefighter Dave Severson hung up his helmet in 2016. He retired from the Lennox Volunteer Fire Department in November, putting in 40 years on the local department.
Severson is the owner of Dave’s Service and Repair in Lennox and has lived in the community since 1973.
He recalled how he got started on the fire department. “Chief Smokey Steever was a good customer at Leonard Motors, and I said, ‘what does it take to get on the fire department?’ He said, ‘I’ll bring your name up.’”
Severson said it was shortly after that exchange that he became a Lennox firefighter, taking the spot of Dick Wilson, who had retired.
Severson has been on 540 calls in the past 40 years and has held the position of captain. In his time he has had many memorable calls, memorable for many different reasons.
Severson said the most boring fire call was when a gravel truck hit a fuel truck. He said, “All we could was watch it, it took forever to burn.”
Another notable fire call was Bob Sinning’s barn fire, explained Severson. He was one of the first on scene and those who showed were new on the department, he said they saw a window open and started shooting water, and saved the barn.
Severson completed all of the training required through the years, noting that has been one of the biggest changes he’s seen in the past four decades.
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