Fire chief making a difference in his community,
Doddridge, Ark., resident Lonnie Hazel had retirement on his mind in 2013, not fighting fires.
But his concern for the community soon changed his mind and he became Doddridge Volunteer Fire Chief Lonnie Hazel.
At the time, the fire department was in danger of closing due to a dwindling number of firefighters.
“I was afraid if it was left vacant, the fire department would be shut down. It had taken so much to get it going. We couldn’t lose it,” Hazel said.
He talked to some friends and they joined the fire department together. “Six of us met. We were not certified yet but I was elected chief at that meeting,” Hazel said.
Hazel and the other new firefighters went through the first responder course at Texarkana College. He has been Doddridge Fire Chief since April 2013.
“I just do it for the community,” he said.
Hazel had retired from the Arkansas Highway Department. He was also supervisor of the Doddridge Ferry from 1984 until closed in 1995.
“It was a good job, it was interesting and I made a lot of friends while I was doing it. It was kind of like working on a cruise ship,” he laughed. “It could be hectic sometimes but I enjoyed it.”
The Doddridge Ferry was unique as it was the last one in Arkansas to be closed and maybe the only one that has been restored.
“Most of them were scrapped and after we restored ours, a lot of people wish they had kept their ferry boats,” Hazel said. “It’s a piece of our history that will be with us a long time.”
Established before Arkansas was a state, the ferry site near Doddridge served residents of Southern Miller and Lafayette Counties for more than 150 years. When the ferry was down, due to high or low water, locals were forced to drive a 56-mile detour through Garland. The ferry’s final trip was in 1995, shortly after the opening of the Highway 160 Red River Bridge.
Hazel also worked on restoring the ferry that now sits in the Doddridge Park.
“I knew a lot of the details. It would have been selfish of me not to do it, because I had some knowledge of it.”
It was while he was busy restoring the ferry, that he was approached by the neighboring firefighters about the shortages at the fire station.
“I told the fire department that when I finished the ferry project, I would be retired,” he said. But it has not worked out that way.
Hazel and the rest of the Doddridge Fire Department have been busy.
The DFD recently received a 2009 Freight liner truck through the Rural Fire Protection program and was also awarded a $500 grant for continuing efforts through the Arkansas Firewise recognition program. Both programs are part of the Arkansas Forestry Commission’s (AFC) Forest Resource Protection Division, which assists departments with wild land fire prevention and suppression among other protection efforts.
After receiving their 2009 Freightliner truck, Doddridge Fire Department converted the property into a tanker truck, which allows the department to transport water for a wildfire suppression.
“Volunteer efforts from fire departments like Doddridge are invaluable to their community. These risk reduction efforts can help prevent fire damage and strengthen firefighter safety as they work to save homes and property from the threat of wildfire,” said Travis Haile, Arkansas firewise coordinator.
There are 13 firefighters in Doddridge now and an active Ladies Auxiliary. Hazel just wants to see it keep going and maybe hand over the reigns to someone else some day.
“I want to make it look like so much fun, a bunch of people will want to do it and I can retire,” he said with a laugh.