Engdahl leaves fire marshal post

Dennis Engdahl said goodbye Monday to his office at the Harrison County Airport on his final day as fire marshal after spending more than 20 years in the position.

“I want to say thanks to all of my good friends in Harrison County, both in and out of the fire service, who have worked with me and helped me do this job in a manner that has been beneficial to the citizens,” said Engdahl.

He signed papers and worked to finish up some fire reports. Investigating fires is not for the faint of heart and is even harder for anyone with a big heart for people, he acknowledged.

“I’m going to miss working with the volunteers, all of my friends at Harrison County and the public as a whole,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to miss — not writing the fire reports.”

Engdahl looked around the office filled with its files, emergency preparedness plans and more than 20 years of memories.

“This is where I’ve called home for a long time,” said Engdahl. “I’ve taken all my stuff down and I’m ready to turn it over.”

Things were very different for the county’s volunteer fire departments when Engdahl took over as fire marshal.

“When I came to the fire marshal’s office, we had 14 volunteer fire departments, and they were all working off a budget of $5,600 a year,” said Engdahl. “Though not necessarily because of my involvement, the training standards went from virtually no training to all volunteers receiving substantial amounts of training.”

Equipment was also upgraded in the VFDs.

“The fire departments, through grants and through the creation of emergency services districts, have all been able to upgrade their equipment to state of the art,” he added.

While proud to see the county’s fire services so thoroughly improved since his arrival, Engdahl does not take any undue credit and shares all successes with the teams of volunteers.

“I had a lot of good friends step forward and do their part. I didn’t do this by myself,” said Engdahl. “It has been a team effort by all the volunteers — men and ladies — over the last 20 years to bring it to this point.”

Engdahl said there are many volunteers still active who were serving on departments when he first arrived in Harrison County about 30 years ago.

“I’ve been in fire protection for over 50 years. I started when my dad was a volunteer firefighter,” he said. “I started chasing fires with him when I was 14 in southern Michigan.”

Engdahl also served as a firefighter in the Navy. Once off active duty, he joined a small volunteer fire department in southern Michigan.

“When the company I was working for transferred me to Marshall, I joined the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department, where I was the training officer, assistant fire chief and chief.”

He then became the District Chief for Harrison County Fire District 1, which has now become Emergency Services District 3. It is comprised of a large area of eastern Harrison County including Blocker-Crossroads, Scottsville, Karnack and Shadow Wood.

Engdahl hopes to keep busy with volunteering after his retirement.
By Terri Hahn in The Marshall News Messenger