An Oklahoma fire chief and firefighter jumped out of their brush truck seconds before it was over run by a massive wildland fire, according to a report published by KSWO ABC7.

According to the report the fire chief and firefighter were members of the New Hope Volunteer Fire Department and they were fighting a fire in the neighboring community of Cement. As they were fighting the fire, flames overran them and caught the truck on fire, the television station reported, adding the men jumped for their lives as flames consumed the apparatus.

A replacement truck will cost the department about $80,000 and the firefighters are seeking donations to cover the expense, the station reported.

According to a report from FOX16, Alexander (AR) Fire Department (AFD) crews were apparently left without any working fire trucks over the past weekend.

AFD Chief Mark Ridgeway said he has five apparatus in his fleet, but the last remaining operational truck went down last week because of a blown tire.

Ridgeway said that, although maintenance is routine on all AFD vehicles, the fleet is aging, and a new truck could cost more than $1 million on an already stretched budget. As a result, crews from neighboring towns are being called in for mutual aid. One example took place at 6:20 a.m. Monday morning, when Shannon Hills volunteer firefighters were called to help a woman who was not breathing.

Records revealed that rescue personnel arrived on scene in less than 10 minutes. However, officials said that, even if AFD trucks were running, it would not have changed the outcome; the victim was deceased when crews arrived.

Ridgeway lamented his department’s aging fleet and said things are getting worse by the day.

As of Monday evening, the AFD has one working engine, and they are once again taking calls. Ridgeway said he hopes to have the remaining fire trucks operational again in the next few days.

Alexander Mayor Paul Mitchell said the current situation is new to the town, but also said it has never been left without fire protection because of its mutual-aid agreements with neighboring cities.

Mitchell said the trucks are older but still repairable and fixable, and that the city has made previous attempts to get grants to buy new trucks. However, the city was never awarded the grants.

An Atlanta city councilman says he is questioning why taxpayers are spending twice as much to build a fire station and why city managers are coming back to ask for multi-millions to complete a station in the northwest part of town.

The Snoqualmie Firefighters Association Scholarship Committee selected graduating Mount Si High School Senior Miriam Ricks as the winner of its $1,500 SFFA scholarship award. The award is intended for those looking to pursue post-secondary education opportunities related to medical, fire or police careers.
- PUB DATE: 7/19/2022 12:00:00 PM - SOURCE: Snoqualmie Valley Record

Tennessee City Fire Captain Ted Presgraves was struck by a van that was passing the scene of a tractor trailer fire Monday night. Presgraves was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene of the tractor trailer fire in Hickman County on West Bound I-40 at about 8:48 p.m. to provide mutual aid support to Bucksnort Fire Rescue.

Implementing a Blocking Engine Program

At about 9:39 p.m. a van traveling west bound on the highway struck tanker 522 and hit Presgraves, who was standing at the tanker’s pump panel, the fire department said in a Facebook post.

The van continued on to strike another vehicle. Presgraves was operated on Monday morning to treat his injuries, the fire department said.

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