David Lenz, Retired OR&W Fire Chief, Dies at 71
Kailey Carpino Trending
David Lenz, retired chief of the former Shadyside Volunteer Fire Department and of the OR&W Fire District, died Saturday at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital at 71 years of age.
Robert "R.C." Fellows became the district's new fire chief nearly six months after Lenz's retirement. He spoke fondly of his predecessor on Monday.
"He was a pillar in a community, served this community for a very long time, and he, you know, was a visionary leader and developed the OR&W Fire District from the Shadyside Volunteer Fire Department, was instrumental in doing that, and just a good all-around leader for the community," Fellows said of Lenz.
Lenz became a firefighter in Shadyside in 1975 and chief of the Shadyside Volunteer Fire Department in 2003. He retired in August 2022.
Lenz graduated from Shadyside High School in 1970. He attended the first paramedic course offered by the former Belmont Community Hospital in Bellaire and then-Belmont Technical College in the early 1980s. He also worked at United Dairy in Martins Ferry.
Mead Township Trustee Ed Good said that the OR&W Fire District would not exist without Lenz's support.
"He and the department were true advocates for that," Good said. "The chief came in at a very difficult time and did a tremendous job for us."
Good said that Lenz overcame "quite a change" when he came from a volunteer department to a fire district.
"He was able to navigate that and transition with the board and just how we operated completely differently than with the volunteer fire department," Good said.
The OR&W Fire District posted messages on its Facebook page in honor of Lenz after he passed.
"As the fire chief, Dave had the forward-thinking to make the Shadyside Volunteer Fire Department into a fire district to better serve the citizens. In 2012, he helped develop and implement the OR&W Fire District into the organization that it is today," it posted. "The members of the O.R.&W. Fire District are grateful for the leadership that retired Chief Dave Lenz has provided throughout the years and will be forever in debt to him. Rest easy, Chief, we got it from here. Please keep the Lenz family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."
Other local fire departments also posted positive messages about the former chief along with their prayers and condolences for his family.
Miss Syd's Preschool in Shadyside will be closed Wednesday so that staff can attend memorial services for Lenz. His wife, Kim Lenz, works at the preschool.
Viewing will take place from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m. today at Bauknecht-Altmeyer Funeral Home and Crematory, 3900 Central Ave., Shadyside. The OR&W Fire District will also hold a firefighter memorial service at 7 p.m. today.
Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home with the service starting at 1 p.m.