PPPVFD Arthur Streigle dies of lung cancer


PPPVFD chief Arthur Streigle

Pontiac / Price Place Volunteer Fire Department chief Arthur Streigle died Saturday of stage 4 lung cancer, less than a month after responding to his last emergency call, a fatal car crash on Highway 5 near the state line, where he and assistant chief Khristie Sansone-Jacquin managed traffic control in mutual aid with the Timber Knob VFD.   

Streigle, who had volunteered as a firefighter with PPPVFD since April 2014, stepped into the chief’s job in January 2018 after the retirement of long-time chief Al Davidson. A celebration of his life and benefit dinner and dessert auction are planned beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at PPPVFD’s fire station #1 on W Highway next to the Pontiac post office. (For more information, see the obituary, page 8.)

His death is a hard loss for Sansone-Jacquin and the busy department’s other volunteers. “We’ll have a big hole in our department now,” she told the Times Monday. 

The department’s volunteers are thankful “for everything he taught us,” she said. “For how well he led us as a fire department, for all the improvements he made and all the work he’s done on so many firetrucks in this county, for all the laughs and the talks in the trucks. His dedication was phenomenal.”

Streigle remained active right up until he was hospitalized about two weeks ago, she said. “He fought long and hard.”

A post on the department’s Facebook page expressed thanks to Streigle for his “dedication to this department, to this little town of ours and to this entire county. You did your job, and now it’s time to rest. You will forever be in our hearts – our brother, our friend, our chief, and yes, we will take it from here, Sir.”

 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423