A retired fire chief was killed in a aircraft crash on Saturday while surveying a wildland fire in Mohave (AZ) County on Saturday, according to a television report broadcast by 3TV/CBS 5.

          The television station reported the pilot, the only other person in the aircraft, was also killed while performing aerial reconnaissance and command and control over the Cedar Basin Fire, near Wikieup.

          Jeff Piechura, the passenger in the aircraft, began his career as a firefighter when he volunteered at the age of 17 with the Northwest Fire District in Tucson, the television station reported. During his career, he worked as chief of the Stockton (CA) Fire Department before returning to Arizona where he served as assistant fire chief in Sedona and continuing to help in Tucson.

          The pilot was identified as Matthew Miller, 48, according to the report.

As of late Sunday, the fire, caused by lightning, had burned more than 700 acres and had no containment, the station reported.

SVI Trucks—Franklin (TN) Fire Department Type 6 brush truck. Chevy Silverado MD Crew Cab 4×4 chassis; Duramax Turbo diesel V8 350-hp engine; Darley 1.5 AGE HP Kubota Diesel 120-gpm slip-in fire pump; 300-gallon polypropylene water tank; 10-gallon foam cell; Darley Fast Foam single-agent foam system; Akron 3462 300-gpm remote-control monitor. Dealer: Rodney Ballington, Southeast Fire Apparatus, Corbin, KY.

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The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) is pleased to announce the installation of the new public art work for Athens-Clarke County Fire Station #2. “Hero’s Path”, by Baton Rouge-based artist Aaron Hussey, was installed by the artist and funded by Athens-Clarke County (ACC) SPLOST.

“Hero’s Path” is a 16ft aluminum and steel sculpture with upward-reaching ladders, and castings of a helmet and coat used by firefighters. The base features the ACC EMA logo on one side and the “Firefighter’s Prayer” (written by A.W. “Smokey” Linn, a Kansas firefighter, in 1958) on the other.

Hussey’s proposal was selected by a panel of ACC firefighters and approved by the Mayor and Commission in Spring 2019. A dedication ceremony is planned for Friday, July 23 at 10:30AM at Fire Station #2. This ceremony will serve as a ribbon-cutting for the new artwork and a memorial for ACC firefighters who gave their lives in service.

A fire truck that responded to the scene of a crash was hit by a car, reports 11 Alive.

DeKalb Fire said that no firefighters were hurt but there were injuries, some were critical.