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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.
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