La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

For more than 30 years, day or night, Dan Taylor has rushed to help every time someone in town was having a crisis.

Now La Conner’s 74-year-old fire chief is putting away his turnout gear as he retires from responding to fire and medical aid calls. Taylor will stay on as the town’s fire warden with administrative job duties, including fire code building inspections.

Taylor first joined the La Conner Volunteer Fire Department in the spring of 1984 and became the department’s chief on January 1, 1999.

His wife Raeann, joined the department in 1989, and the two were married at the fire station, during a Wednesday night social.

Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician Raeann Taylor is also retiring this year.

“These are two people who have dedicated their lives to this community,” said La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes. “They don’t do it for recognition, they do it for a deep commitment for their community.”

Taylor was also a La Conner business owner for many years. He opened Action Marine Service, a boat maintenance shop, in 1979 and operated the company until he closed it in December 2010.

Responding to thousands of calls over the last 32 years, the fire department was a big component in the Taylor family’s lives.

“We’ve always had great volunteers, and I’m very proud of everyone of them,” Taylor said.

One of the volunteers, Joe Fohn, will be stepping into the role of La Conner Fire Chief.

Fohn has been with the fire department since 2009, and has served as the assistant fire chief for the last three years.

“The fire department would like to thank Dan for his many years of dedicated service to the department and the community,” Fohn said Tuesday. “I would like to thank Dan for having me as assistant chief the last couple years, as that experience will be beneficial through this transition.”

Dan will be greatly missed, Fohn added. “With Dan retiring, there will be a serious void in the fire department, and big shoes to fill are being left for all of us that remain involved. We have our work cut out for us, and recruiting new members to the department is one of our top priorities.