Williamstown ? After 20 years of service, Rural Township Fire Department founder and chief John Rodecap, 73, stepped down Saturday night at Williamstown’s 18th annual chili feed benefit dinner.

The event, sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Rural Township Fire Department, drew about 250 people, which is about double the amount of residents who live in unincorporated “Billtown,” about two miles east of Perry.

Rodecap founded the department in 1984 because neighboring townships were “getting tired” of going out of their way to serve the 36 square miles of rural township. At the time, he was a tree crew foreman for Kansas Power and Light in Lawrence and had no training as a firefighter. He didn’t expect to fill the position for so long, he said.

“I told the township at the time I’d take it until they could find somebody else,” he said.

Twenty years later, that somebody else is his son, John Rodecap Jr.

Rodecap Sr. has built a department that the township depends on. In 1984, it served 13 fire calls. In 2003, the department responded to 246 calls with a crew of 26 volunteers. Now, the department responds to hazardous materials, emergency medical care and auto accidents.

The challenge of sustaining a rural fire department is landing funding, Rodecap Sr. said. He said upgrading equipment could be difficult on a $50,000 annual taxpayer-funded budget. The department is still making payments on its 3-year-old, $140,000 pump engine. The money left after payments amounts to about $24,000 a year — less than the annual average salary of a Kansas firefighter, said Rodecap Jr., a salaried firefighter at the Potawatomie Reservation.

The firefighters who routinely answer calls in the early-morning hours aren’t doing it for the gas-mileage reimbursements they receive, Rodecap Jr. said.

“These guys don’t get a check,” he said. “They do it for the love of being a fireman.”

John Rodecap Sr. attends the Williamstown Chili Feed. Rodecap is retiring from the Williams-town Fire Department after 20 years of service.

Of the 26 volunteers on the department’s roster, at least seven are members of the Rodecap family.

Two of Rodecap’s grandchildren are pursuing degrees in fire science at Hutchinson County Community College. Inspired by their grandfather, they started answering department calls at age 16.

Jennifer Rodecap, a sophomore at the college, helped at the scene of a fatality accident as early as her senior year in high school.

“My grandkids know more about firefighting than I do,” Rodecap said, whispering.

Firefighter relishes battles with Western blazes (8-10-02) U.S. Highway 24-59 dangers old hat for rural firefighters (12-4-03)

After 20 years in the business, he’s still modest.