“You could be in there fighting fire and all of the sudden John would be next to you,” said Steve Hergenreter, who retired as the city’s fire chief in February.

Webster was a city firefighter for 37 years and was the fire chief from 2003 to 2009, when he retired.

“He was a good chief,” said Doug Ostbloom, a retired assistant fire chief.

Webster, who died Tuesday at age 79 in Okoboji, was remembered by his colleagues for his calm demeanor, heads-on leadership style and vast knowledge of building construction.

The graduate of St. Edmond High School joined the Fire Department in 1972. He was promoted to lieutenant, assistant fire chief and finally, fire chief.

Hergenreter and Ostbloom both said that during his tenure as chief Webster had to deal with continuous budget restraints.

“We had a lot of tight budgets,” Ostbloom said.

Despite the budget situation, Webster was able to get some major projects done. He secured federal grants that paid for an aerial ladder truck that is still in use and a pumper truck. He also led the effort to get an addition built onto the south end of the firehouse, which Ostbloom described as a major accomplishment. That addition created two additional truck bays, making it possible to properly house all of the trucks.

At fire and emergency scenes, Webster led from the front.

“He was always very calm at fires,” Hergenreter said.

He said that after Webster got the firefighting and rescue operation underway, he would go into burning buildings to check on the firefighters manning the hoselines.

And on at least one occasion, he operated the hoseline himself.

Ostbloom recalled a fire on the third floor of a building in the 1100 block of Central Avenue. When the call came in, Firefighter Mark Peters, Webster and himself were the only ones in the firehouse because the rest of the on-duty crew was doing water rescue training at a quarry. They responded by themselves.

“John drug the hose up there all by himself while we made the hydrant,” Ostbloom said. “You would expect four or five guys to do that. He made a big difference because we were able to get water on the fire quickly.”

Those who worked with Webster admired his knowledge of building construction, which was very useful when trying to put out fires.

“He knew construction well,” Ostbloom said. “When we were looking for hot spots, John had the advantage because he typically knew the layout of a residential building and how it was constructed.”

“The buildings in Fort Dodge, he knew them inside out,” Hergenreter added.

He recalled that Webster had a great sense of humor.

“He was always kind,” Ostbloom said. “He worked hard and long hours. He was a good chief to work for.”

Visitation for Webster will be from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Laufersweiler Funeral Home, 307 S. 12th St. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the funeral home.