PAWNEE COUNTY, Okla. — Several rural fire departments are still trying to recover from the recent wildfire outbreak in Green Country.
Nearly two weeks since the destructive fires in local counties, several are still trying to make needed repairs to fire and tanker trucks.
North 48 Volunteer Fire Department in Terlton runs off of about 20 volunteer firefighters. Chief Keith Buntin told FOX23 in an interview that they lost one of their trucks while trying to fight fires in the area.
“We lost a 1982 Chevy 3/4 ton truck that was an old forestry truck. We ended up losing a motor, the guys were trying to make their way down to a dead-end road to get to some houses and the motor went out on them on the way there,” said Buntin. “They’re actively still doing maintenance on the trucks. We lost one truck, it blew a motor during the fires. Lots of other things are broke right now, but the guys are working on trying to get everything up and ready to go.”
Buntin told FOX23 that another way people can help their local rural departments is by offering the necessary tools and skills to help fix these vehicle problems.
Several departments like North 48 are using repurposed vehicles from the 80s and 90s and they don’t have the funds to purchase new vehicles or hire a mechanic.
“Every fire department around here that doesn’t have a mechanic would benefit from someone donating some time to help turn a wrench or fixing some things or just maintenance. Like with us, our budget is only $38,000 a year, we can only do so much. Trying to keep old equipment running is hard,” Buntin said.
Buntin said most departments are good on snacks and water. He said they are very thankful for those donations, but there is still a need.
“All the rural fire departments right now need assistance wherever they can get it. Everybody needs volunteers, everybody needs a little extra funding right now. Right now, some of the needs are chapstick, eyewash, things like that that keep coming in but we need more cause we’ve used so much,” Buntin said.
FOX23 reached out to multiple rural fire departments who assisted in the Creek and Pawnee County fires.
Since they are volunteers, most have full-time jobs throughout the day and could not go on camera, but they spoke with us over the phone.
Some had similar needs as North 48. Others, like Basin Volunteer Fire Department, said they lost a tire and a chainsaw so they considered themselves to be “very lucky”.
They said the best way to find out how to help your local volunteer firefighters is to reach out to them and ask what their current needs are.
Here is a list of some of the rural departments that assisted in those fires that FOX23 reached out to and how you can get in touch with them:
- North 48 Volunteer Fire Department - 918-865-3812
- Basin Volunteer Fire Department - 918-865-3488
- Terlton Fire Department - 918-757-4254
- Jennings Fire Department - 918-757-2543
- Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department - 918-358-3506
- Silver City Volunteer Fire Department - 918-210-0421
- Mannford Fire Department - 918-865-2666
- Peninsula Fire Department - 918-243-7222
- Green Country Volunteer Fire Department - 918-241-7204
- Prue Fire Department - 918-242-3613
- Keystone Fire Department - 918-363-8261
If you assisted in the fire and need community support as a local fire department and want to be added to this list, email news@fox23.com.
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