When Dennis Jordison did his first inspections in Fort Dodge, President Gerald Ford was in the White House, the last Americans were being flown out of South Vietnam as that country collapsed and the movie “Jaws” had people worried about going into the water.

Jordison, the city’s building and electrical inspector, began his municipal career on April 1, 1975. That career will end within a month when he retires after 39 years of making sure that Fort Dodge buildings are safe places in which to live and work.

“Ultimately, you like to think you’re doing your part to make the built environment safer for everyone that lives in it,” he said in a recent interview.

He will be honored at a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. today in the Municipal Building, 819 First Ave. S.

Although his retirement reception is being held today, he’ll work into next month. An exact retirement date hasn’t been set.

The inspector is apparently the longest-serving employee now on the staff, according to Jim Vollmer, the city’s human resources director.

Jordison said safety is the “whole premise” of the building codes that he’s responsible for enforcing. He added that conducting the inspections and making sure that the codes are followed are a form of law enforcement.

As his career entered its last days this week, he remained vigilant in his efforts to enforce the codes. One afternoon, he ordered an electrician to redo an electrical connection. On another morning, he and Assistant Fire Chief Doug Ostbloom, the city fire marshal, inspected a sprinkler system at a hotel under construction.

He said he usually didn’t get many objections when he ordered a builder or electrician to make a change.

“That inspection does a lot to protect them,” he said.

He said he considered the code violations he encountered to be the result of honest mistakes or the work of someone who just didn’t know the requirements.

“Everybody’s human,” Jordison said. “Everyone misses something every once in a while.”

The codes are full of technical details, and they offer multiple ways to acheive compliance, he said.

Over the years, he’s memorized the code requirements that cover the situations he encounters most often. For other situations, he must know what section of the code covers the matter. He carries copies of the thick code books in his truck while making inspections.

“Nobody ever gets to know it all,” he said.

Because he’s a voting member of the International Code Council, Jordison has a say in what’s included in codes used throughout the nation.

He’s also a member of the Iowa Association of Building Officials and the Iowa chapter of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors. He is certified as an inspector by the International Conference of Building Officials.

Jordison graduated from Graceland College in Lamoni in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics. Soon after graduating, he received a notice from the local draft board. Rather than waiting to be drafted, he enlisted in the Air Force. After completing electronics training, he was assigned to work in intelligence and communications. He was stationed at the Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Later, he was sent to 13th Air Force Headquarters in the Philippines. Jordison was subsequently assigned to the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md.

He was discharged from the Air Force in December 1973.

He then went to work as a production foreman for Globe Union, a company that once made electrical switches in Fort Dodge.

He said he became a city inspector because “it was a job that came open so I gave it a try.”

His first duty was checking rundown properties and blight by conducting what city officials call nuisance inspections.

In 1976, he became the assistant building inspector in charge of housing inspections. Three years later, he became the city’s electrical inspector.

In 1981, the electrical inspector and building inspector positions were combined. Jordison has done both jobs since then.

He has also served as the zoning administrator responsible for enforcing the city’s zoning rules.

Building and zoning issues account for about two-thirds of his workload, Jordison said.

Vollmer said a search for Jordison’s replacement has been underway for about six weeks.