Trending Topics

Ohio firefighter to retire after 60 years of service

Ted Lazar joined the department when he was 21; back then, he could see the fire station from his house and hear the siren

re-12.jpg

Zanesville Times Recorder

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — After 60 years of volunteering for the South Zanesville Fire Department, 11 of them as chief, Ted Lazar decided to retire this year.

“I’ll be what they call an auxiliary member,” he said, which means he can’t respond to calls anymore or be a voting member of the force. But there’s no version of his future he can picture that doesn’t include him working with the department in some capacity, despite being 81 years old.

Lazar joined the department in 1956, when he was 21 and living with his parents on Putnam Avenue. Back then, he could almost see the fire station from his house, and he definitely could hear the siren. A neighbor invited Lazar to a department meeting, and when the meeting finished, Lazar was an official volunteer.

Full story: South Zanesville firefighter retires after 60 years