The Piper City Fire Department will be holding an open house on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. to honor four volunteer firefighters, each with decades of experience, who are retiring. The firefighters are John Hoogstraat, Dale Reinagle, Jake Hitchens and Dave Carpenter, who together have given more than 150 years of service to the fire department.
These men have served their community in various capacities in the department. Hoogstraat is a firefighter and first responder with 50 years of service to the Piper City Fire Department. He is, according to Fire Chief Tony Lane, "dedicated, always there to lend a hand. [He] has seen so much and probably some people will not learn as much." He has served the people of the fire district, which encompasses Piper City, Brenton Township and Pella Township for a total of 725 square miles, since 1966. Hitchens, who has 47 years of service, is a man who has worn many hats during his time with the department. He is a firefighter, first responder, EMS coordinator and a former fire chief. Lane said Hitchens is "always there to lend a helping hand ... very intelligent on the medical side of things. He was EMS coordinator. That is a very intense job."
Reinagle, who served for 46 years, is a "master of figuring out mechanical issues" according to Lane.
With 25 years of experience, Carpenter has served his community as a past assistant fire chief, firefighter, first responder and EMT-B. Carpenter started his career with the fire department in 1991.
"Dave was always there," Lane said.
"All four men sacrificed time, family and life to assure the safety of the community."