ASHLAND – The Ashland Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol is currently investigating a fatal crash involving a commercial vehicle, Town & Country Fire District engine, and an OSHP patrol cruiser that occurred on Interstate 71, near state Route 301, in Wayne County.

At 3:14 [Monday] afternoon, troopers were dispatched to the southbound lanes of I-71, south of state Route 301, for a report of a single-vehicle minor injury crash. Troopers arrived on scene and began to investigate the crash when units with the Town & Country Fire District arrived on scene to assist. During that time, the investigating trooper was completing documentation near the vehicle prior to it being towed from the scene, while one of the firefighters was completing additional documentation for their report.

At 3:59 a southbound commercial motor vehicle struck the left rear of the fire truck on scene. The commercial vehicle then struck the Patrol cruiser and the vehicle that was involved in the original crash. The firefighter and trooper, who were still at the original vehicle, were also struck at that time.

The trooper is identified as Steven B. Hill, 37, from the Patrol’s Ashland Post. He was transported from the scene with non-life threatening injuries.

The Firefighter was identified as Lieutenant Philip M. Wigal, 35. Lieutenant Wigal succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

According to the Town & Country Fire District Chief Adam Hory, Lieutenant Philip M. Wigal began his career with the Town & Country Fire District in August of 2006 as a part-time firefighter. In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and in May of 2014 he was hired full-time.

The driver of the commercial vehicle was identified as Edyt A. Hernandez, 41, Hialeah, Florida. Hernandez was transported to an area hospital for minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

By Alan M. Petrillo

Hallam Fire Department purchased a Type 6 quick attack/wildland pumper from Weis Fire and Safety in 2015, and when Hallam decided it needed a second unit it again turned to Weis for a near-identical rig.

Mike Weis, owner of Weis Fire and Safety, says that when the Hallam truck committee asked him about building a second quick attack/wildland truck, he met with them, determined their specific needs, and made some changes to the prior design to better suit the department’s operations. “There were subtle changes in the new truck,” Weis notes, “with slight modifications to the compartments, and adding Hi Viz Fire Tech LED horizontal scene lighting instead of telescoping scene lights.”

Tim Bruder, Hallam’s assistant chief, points out that Hallam covers 50 square miles of a mostly rural fire district with 25 volunteer firefighters operating out of a single station. In addition to its newest Weis quick attack/wildland Type 6, Hallam runs a Type 1 pumper with a 1,750-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and 750-gallon water tank, a pumper-tanker with a 1,250-gpm pump and 3,000-gallon water tank, a Weis Type 6 wildland unit on a four-wheel drive Ford F-450, a pickup truck outfitted as a brush truck, and an ambulance. “We have a lot of brush and wildland fires and a lot of wind in our area,” Bruder observes, “and for the past month and a half we’ve been in red flag conditions. We also have multiple terrain issues to account for, with lots of hills and ditches, and also small lakes.”

Because of those terrain issues, Bruder says Hallam chose to outfit its new quick attack/wildland pumper with four-wheel drive and Super Singles wheels and tires. “The Super Singles give the truck great ground clearance, as well as very strong torque,” Bruder notes.

Weis says the new Type 6 quick attack/wildland truck built for Hallam is on a Ford F-450 four-wheel-drive chassis and extended Super Cab, powered by a Power Stroke 330-horsepower (hp) 6.7-liter turbo diesel engine. The rig has a Hale HPX200-KBD 24 pump that has pump-and-roll capability, a UPF 300-gallon water tank, top-mounted pump controls, two red rubber one-inch booster whip lines equipped with Task Force Tips DQS40P pistol grip nozzles in the 20-inch wide walkway that’s protected by swing gates, a rear-mounted electric rewind Hannay booster reel with 100 feet of one-inch booster hose, two ground sweep nozzles with KZCO electric valves, and a Task Force Tips Tornado bumper-mounted monitor controlled by an in-cab joystick.

Posted: Apr 12, 2022

Photo of the Day: April 12, 2022

E-ONE—Urbana (IL) Fire Department two pumpers. Cyclone cabs and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engines; Darley PSM 1,500-gpm pumps; UPF Poly 530-gallon water tanks; Whelen warning light packages; E-ONE heavy duty two arm ladder racks; Reyco-Granning IFS front and FIREMAAX EX rear suspensions. Dealer: Craig Hamrick, Banner Fire Equipment, Roxana, IL. (Photo by author.)

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