People laughed at Joe McAllister when in 1946 he set off to create a rural fire department for Franklin Township in eastern South Dakota.

Now, 69 years later and a successful fire department running, McAllister has decided to retire.

Now at age 91, McAllister has retired from the rural department's governing board.

Fire chief Randy Minnaert says six of the nine trucks now housed at the Madison Fire Department belong to the rural fire board. Those trucks help firefighters service more than 12,000 residents in Lake County.

McAllister says he and his dad knew early on that the community needed fire protection. McAllister's grandfather died of the lung damage he suffered after fighting a prairie fire.

McAllister says he is "darn proud" of the rural fire department.

Source: The Madison Daily Leader , Associated Press

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