One local firefighter has entered a well deserved retirement after three decades of dedication to Lennox. Doug Vietor of the Lennox Volunteer Fire Department officially retired from his service to the community early this fall.
Vietor was on the Lennox department for 30 years. Doug received his nomination from Firefighter Ted VanHull. He joined the department in the month of October, 1988 and retired on October 23 of this year. Vietor’s first call on the department was to respond to an attic fire while his last call was to respond to the scene of a motor vehicle accident. Over these 30 years, Vietor responded to a total of 657 calls, including the hardware store fire in Lennox.
Over the last 30 years, Vietor has seen a variety of changes, including the very equipment he and other department mem- bers worked with.
He explained, “All the trucks in our fire station, they’re all different trucks from the day I got on.”
In the course of Vietor’s career, he attended a variety of courses to gain valuable experience. Vietor is a State of South Dakota Certified Firefighter. In addition, Vietor took the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) courses titled IS-00100, IS-00200, IS-00700 in 2005. In 2012 he also completed FEMA’s IS-00800 course. All of the aforementioned courses are required for Lennox firefighters.
Vietor also served as a member of the Department’s Board during the years of 1991, 1992, and 1993. Later on, Vietor was appointed to the role of Captain, a position that he held for five years.