After 30 years in the career of public service, Osage Beach Fire District Chief Jeff Dorhauer is packing up the hoses and ladders and moving into retirement. He says it’s been a fulfilling career and one that he will always look back on fondly.
However, it wasn’t always the intention of Dorhauer to seek out a life as a firefighter. His career began in the hotel industry in St. Louis. In 1989, he was relocated to the lake and would began work at the Lodge of the Four Seasons. He says that one day while working at the Lodge, a bartender approached him and asked if he might be interested in being a volunteer firefighter in Osage Beach. That began a path that would lead to his long career.
Dorhauer continued work at the Lodge while volunteering at the fire department until 1996 when he finally took a full-time paid position for the department. Although he never intended to become a firefighter, it turned out to be one of the best decision’s he ever made.