John
Doster Receives 2008 NVFC
Lifetime Achievement Award
John
Doster is the recipient of
the National Volunteer Fire
Council’s (NVFC) 2008
Lifetime Achievement Award.
This prestigious national
award, which is sponsored by
Scott Health and Safety, is
presented annually to a
volunteer firefighter whose
remarkable achievements in
the fire service and
community exemplifies
outstanding performance.
“Chief Doster epitomizes
the ideal this award
represents,” said NVFC
Chairman Philip C.
Stittleburg. “He has
dedicated 75 years of his
life to the volunteer fire
service and remains active
in his fire company at the
age of 88. His
accomplishments over a
lifetime of service are too
numerous to list, and his
commitment to his community
and his country should serve
as inspiration to others
following in his
footsteps.”
Doster has a long and
distinguished history in the
volunteer fire service. He
is a Life Member of the
Edgely Fire Company #1 in
Levittown, PA, which he
joined in 1933. At the age
of 88, he is also the oldest
active volunteer in the
state of Pennsylvania. In
his years with the Company,
Doster has served as
Captain, Foreman, and
Trustee, and was Chief for
twenty-five years. His
service to his community,
his state, and his country
truly exemplifies
outstanding lifetime
achievement.
Doster has received
acknowledgement as the
longest-serving active
firefighter in Pennsylvania.
He was named the most active
firefighter in his company
in 1999, 2000, and 2001, and
currently responds on 90
percent of the calls his
department receives while he
is on duty. He also received
the Bucks County Fire
Chiefs’ Association
Heroism Award for the 1977
rescue of two people from a
burning apartment building.
Doster was instrumental in
forming the Interstate
Marine Association, which is
the primary responder to
water rescue calls in Bucks
County, PA. He was the
driving force behind the
Bucks County Fire School,
where he was an instructor
for fifteen years. As Chief
of Edgely Fire Company #1,
Doster actively sought the
latest technologies,
equipment, and apparatus,
including obtaining the
station’s first ladder
truck. Current members
attribute the department’s
continued use of
cutting-edge apparatus to
the procedures that Chief
Doster implemented years
ago.
Doster is a member of the
Cumberland Valley Volunteer
Firemen’s Association,
Life Member and past
President of the Bucks
County Fire Chiefs’ and
Firefighters’ Association,
member of the Bristol
Township Fire Police
Association, Life Member of
the International
Association of Fire Chiefs,
and a member of the National
Volunteer Fire Council.
In addition to his work in
the volunteer fire service,
Doster is a World War II
veteran and recipient of a
Purple Heart. His has also
been a farmer, electrician,
plumber, carpenter, truck
driver, and crane operator.
He has two children. |
