Soon after darkness fell on December 29th, Sullivan Fire Department was dispatched to a residential structure fire on Box Elder Road, which is a small residential area across from the site of the old Kellter Tower on Hwy 185 South.  Firefighters arrived to find a mobile home well involved and the trailer tightly closed up, appeared to be abandoned and they were having a lot of difficulty making access to it when I arrived and started taking photos. 

Fires 2019-1229 10037 Box Elder Road Mobile Home Fire

…what you cannot see in the photos above are the firefighters trying to make entry, because they are inside that heavy smoke cloud to the right of the fire….the next video shows why portable lighting was brought in soon after to light things up for the firefighters while they chopped holes in the exterior skin walls to gain entry to the fire….

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..they did eventually make it down to my end of the trailer, still trying to find a way to enter the trailer, and discovered the trailer still had electric power service.

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they were able to chop some holes in the thin walls of the trailer giving them some limited access to the fire raging inside, while other firefighters used a chainsaw to cut brush around the east end of the trailer and set up lighting. Both sets of crews here tonight, really got a good workout in…

Fires 2019-1229 10037 Box Elder Road Mobile Home Fire Vid 41

…rain was falling during the time they were fighting the fire and continued through the night as well. Firefighters were able to knock down the flames inside the trailer through the holes punched in the outside skin of the mobile home and bring the fire under control. I left the scene soon after this.

Shortly after midnight Friday morning, December 13th, 2019, I woke up to hear Bourbon Fire Department being dispatched to assist Cuba with a commercial structure fire at the old Midway Motel near the intersection of Hwy 19 and Old 66…the original hotel building, which faced Old Highway 66 on the northeast corner of Highway 19,  was torn down a couple of years ago. It was once owned by Noel Piccard, a Blues Hockey Player many years ago…and this  building was a two wing section that sat half a block north of the original structure and had been used as apartments in more recent years. Cuba received the call at 12:06 am and arrived to find the south facing wing totally engulfed in heavy fire, called for a second alarm shortly after…I arrived right behind Sullivan`s Pumper 854 and observed the west facing wing fully involved….

…and Cuba firefighters deploying their 75 foot Ladder Truck Nozzle to fight the heavy fire from the structure….

Fires 2019-1213 Old Midway Motel in Cuba 2nd Alarm Structure Fire

Fires 2019-1213 2nd Vid Midway Motel in Cuba Fully Involved

Fires 2019-1213 3rd Vid Midway Motel Fire in Cuba Early This Morning

Fires 2019-1213 4th Video Midway Hotel Fire in Cuba Early This Morning 101 N Franklin St

Fires 2019-1213 5th Video from NW Corner

Fires 2019-1213 6th Video Midway Hotel Remains Fire in Cuba

The video above shows a firefighter getting a little too close to the fire and getting caught and called out for it…fighting fire is a dangerous enough job without stunts like this. In over 45 years of photographing fires, I have seen too many things like this and Thank God no one has gotten seriously burned or hurt, but the potential is definitely there to do so. 

By now the fire had reached the end of the road, burning as far down the wing as it could, and was beginning to wind down…

Sullivan Fire District sent a second crew to assist and they arrived shortly after, as well as crews from Owensville Fire District….

I left the scene shortly after Sullivan`s reinforcements arrival, all firefighters on scene had a lot of mopping up to do…I heard later in the week that the fire was deemed to be suspicious and an investigation was underway. As usual, Cuba Fire Department did a great job maintaining control of the fire with good assistance from Cuba PD, Crawford County Sheriffs Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol. 

On September 21st, I was on my way home from work at the golf course, and as I rounded the bend on westbound I-44 approaching the straight stretch that runs along the old St Clair Airport, I spotted a car on fire, on the shoulder of eastbound 44. It looked like a gray colored Pontiac and heavy flames were rolling out of the passenger cabin of the car.

Despite heavy westbound traffic behind me, I pulled over to the shoulder and called 911…which rang three times and then routed me to the non-emergency number of Franklin County Sheriffs Office, a number I know well…never had that happen before…a radio operator answered the phone and I told her what was going on, described the car…no I didn`t see anyone around the car or inside the car, and she then told me St Clair Fire Department had been dispatched and disconnected the call…I imagine they were getting multiple calls on it and had limited call takers or dispatchers on duty to answer the incoming calls. No worries, help was rolling so I took a few photos…I had to shoot fast due to the heavy traffic passing me, insuring that I got a few good shots…I decided to stay inside my truck and shoot from there…

…two shots later, the car exploded and I was able to capture it because I was shooting non-stop….

…luckily no one was passing by when it exploded and St Clair wasn`t up on it with their firefighters, either…

A few minutes later, I heard St Clair Fire Department responding and soon they were pulling up, not sure if they saw the explosion as they approached or not…

Fires 2019-0921 EB 44 241.6 MM St Clair Car Fire With Explosion

…but they did seem to approach with caution, so it`s quite possible they did see it. At any rate, they put a quick knockdown on the fire after a second explosion occurred as they were walking up…between the next two photos you can tell, but they wisely moved off into the grass off the shoulder and made their initial attack from there…

…and just as they were making progress on their attack from the grassy area, the second firefighter on the hoseline, had trouble with his airpack and had to stop and make some changes before they could advance…

and by doing so, the nozzleman was able to knock down the heavy fire inside the cabin by focusing on spraying water through the burned out back windshield, maintaining a safe distance from the car…

Job Well Done, St Clair Fire District !!

I heard the tones drop for a structure fire at 384 Landon Road near the old welding shop, so I grabbed my camera and headed that way. Sullivan Fire Department wasn`t far behind me so I pulled over in the parking lot of the welding shop and let them all go by, then hoofed it down to the scene on foot. Turned out to be a large shed on fire, flames visible from Landon Road and I shot the first photo from the gravel lane, an opening in the trees showing the flames….

My buddy, Medic Tim Leasor, with MoBap EMS, took this next photo of the firefighters preparing to attack the fire and bleeding the air out of the hoseline…

..that is Damon Sumpter, the Captain of that crew, on the nozzle…I probably could have got there in time to shoot it as well, but was busy shooting the next photo, a reflection on the side of Pumper 854 that made it appear to be on fire as well…

…and I then walked up and started to photograph the scene…that is Tim ahead of me in the blue outfit…

…and then Damon turned his attention to the house siding, which had melted down from the intense heat of the flames, so he cooled down the siding as well…

…then when the firefighters got the shed doors open, they hit the flames inside the shed and continued to cool things down…

…one of the losses inside the shed was a zero turn mower….

Good job guys !!

Around 5:30 pm on June 2nd, I heard Sullivan PD dispatching MOBAP EMS and SPD to a report of a motor vehicle accident on eastbound I-44 at or near the 226 mile marker, and advised personnel there were reports of multiple injuries and ejection. I let Jim Bartle know I was on the way to photograph the scene for the paper, as he was out of town on a work detail, and kept him advised throughout the incident so he could put a story together quickly and update motorists in the area as well. I parked just past Acid Mines Road and walked up back up the road to the guardrail above the scene, deciding to stay up on the shoulder of the Service Road, as traffic was heavy on the westbound side of 44 and responders were going to have their hands full from the looks of it. It appeared to be a single vehicle accident, car rolled over into the center median and injured patients laying on the inside shoulder of the wb lanes, as well as several in the grassy median on both sides of the car. Several motorists had stopped to lend aid to the patients and remained in place there, until the arrival of firefighters, medics, and police officers….

…..while other motorists stopped and assisted law enforcement officers with traffic control and direction, until additional resources were able to arrive and assist. Traffic initially on both east and westbound sides, was directed to pass by the accident scene on the outside shoulders. Chief Eric requested multiple ground ambulances and air units to respond to the scene and once the air units arrived, westbound traffic was diverted to the exit ramp of the East Overpass so that air units could land on the westbound lanes. Eastbound traffic was diverted up the exit ramp to the East Overpass as well and traffic split to the south to take the South Service Road east and to the north to the North Service Road going east. MOBAP EMS were on scene ahead of Sullivan Fire Department with one ambulance, and within minutes, three ambulances from North Crawford County Ambulance District arrived to assist, while Sullivan Firefighters continued to respond to the scene in great numbers and multiple trucks…

…within 17 minutes of the call, Missouri State Troopers were on scene beginning their investigation….

…a minute later, NCCAD`s first ambulance arrived to assist….

…and even more firefighters were on scene as well….

….19 minutes into the scene, NCCAD had their second ambulance on scene and one air unit landed on westbound lanes of 44….

Multiple agencies and personnel working together on scene in an effective and fluid manner to provide medical aid to the patients and provide safe and fast travel to medical facilities…

A total of seven ground ambulances responded to the scene from as far away as Gerald and St Clair and at least three air units landed on westbound 44 for transport of patients to area hospitals. For the hour I was there photographing the scene, I saw GREAT TEAMWORK by all first responders and a handful of concerned citizens and military personnel.

About 9:30 pm on May 2nd, 2019, Sullivan Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a residential structure fire at 621 Dunnigan Street in Sullivan. On arrival of firefighters, heavy fire was rolling out the front windows and door of the residence and firefighters were able to make a good and quick knockdown. My buddy Jim Bartle was there when I arrived, kinda funny, he was shooting on one end of the pumper while I was at the other end of it.

Firefighters set up positive pressure ventilation pretty quickly and checked the attic before leaving the scene later. They were called to the same residence about a week later, raising even more suspicions about the cause of the fire.

Around 10:30 am Monday morning on March 18th, I heard Bourbon Fire Department dispatched to a commercial dryer on fire inside the building at Paramount Headwear in Bourbon. Chief Daniel Whatley later told me that he saw heavy black smoke in the area of Paramount as he was responding to the call…the call was then re-dispatched as a Commercial Structure Fire and Sullivan`s Pumper 854 and Ladder 852 added to the call, along with Cuba Fire Department…I drove up there, around to the rear of the building, where I found 854 and Bourbon`s lead pumper nosed into the back loading bay of the building….

….fire crews inside attacking a commercial screen printing dryer that overheated and caught fire…heavy smoke was reportedly showing when Bourbon crews arrived….as I pulled up, Ladder 852 operator Kyle Robertson began raising the ladder so that firefighters could access the roof and check the vents above the fire area….

Bourbon Firefighter Wagner climbed up to the roof to check and make sure no fire had extended from the dryer on fire into the roofline of the building…

Cuba Fire Department arrived shortly after I did…Corey Martin was driving and operating Pumper 854 and helped Bourbon crews set up positive pressure ventilation fans on the loading dock of the building to ventilate the smoke and fumes from the working area.

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Bourbon firefighters quickly responded and knocked down the majority of the fire by the time Sullivan crews arrived, and with all of the ventilation fans set up at the back of the building, employees were soon able to return to work inside the building, the one dryer taken out of service and maintenance crews cleaning up the mess.

Late afternoon on March 14th, Sullivan Fire Department was dispatched to an outside fire at the end of Longridge Lane off Hwy AF north of town….I had to look up that road name as I was not familiar with it and then headed that way. Chief Eric turned on to AF just ahead of me as I passed by Station Five and we continued north…Pumper 854 was ahead of us a good three or four minutes and I could see heavy black smoke off to the northeast of us a ways. As we approached where AF turns into Ridge Road, the smoke appeared to be east of us and we both missed the road sign for the turn off onto Longridge Lane…we only went a little ways before turning around…I told Chief Eric I thought the turn was back up on top of the hill and off to the east, so we went back up there and met Mickey Montee heading that way, advising his it was his son Matt`s place at the end of the road. Recent rains made the ground extremely wet and soggy, so there were no pull off places as we followed him to the scene and had to park in the driveway with the fire trucks…normally I like to stay out of their way but there were no other alternatives for parking this time…we arrived to find the crew of Captain Dave Konys trying to search and knock down hot spots of a single story outbuilding located behind the residence….

..I moved over to the west side where firefighters Stetson Zelch and Ryan Sumpter were trying to extinguish the fire in the Bobcat…fuel and rubber burning in and around the machine were making it nearly impossible for them to put the fire out…

It was very windy that day and wind has spread the fire down into the woods behind the building as well, so some of the crews arriving behind us were donning leaf blowers, then walking down the hill to put a line around that fire…the building was basically on the ground when Dave`s crew arrived….

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…leaving firefighters with containment and extinguishing the fires inside the perimeter, made easier with the removal of the tin roof sheets…St Clair Fire Department responded with a pumper tanker and arrived just ahead of Tanker 853….

…their firefighters assisting Sullivan firefighters in extinguishing the fire remaining….

……Sullivan`s firefighters made a second attempt at putting out the Bobcat fire….

In the next video, I made a mistake, thought I was filming Zac Martell on the hoseline when it was actually Stetson Zelch on the hoseline assisted by Ryan Sumpter…so again, sorry about that Stetson….

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Firefighters remained on scene for about 90 minutes before releasing St Clair and Tanker 853 from the scene…

Tuesday morning, March 12th, I was doing some work on my computer when I heard Sullivan Fire Department`s tones drop for a MVA, tractor trailer off the roadway, at the 230 exit of I-44 EB, Stanton Exit. I heard Chief Eric respond with Pumper 854 and dispatch advised him they were taking a call for a car fire at Hwy 185 south and Hwy A, began wondering who was going to take that call when I heard Jimmy Smythe key up the radio and advise Chief Eric he would respond momentarily in Pumper 834 to the car fire, and thought he had firefighters responding with him.

Onyx and I headed to the car fire as well and we arrived about ten minutes later, not far behind the pumper. As I was approaching and passing Hwy K, I started seeing heavy black smoke about a mile ahead. By this time I was behind a semi dump truck and as we approached I spotted the sedan on the north side of the highway in a pullout spot, fully involved, heavy black smoke rolling across the partially blocked highway….I pulled past the pumper that was spotted in the northbound lane facing southbound, then saw Jimmy pulling the pre-connect hoseline and stretching it out. I parked in the wide spot on Hwy A at the intersection of Hwy 185, locked Onyx inside the truck and loped down to the pumper, where JImmy was packing up…the small sedan fully involved behind the truck….

I walked up to Jimmy and asked him where his crew was…he said he was it…I was shocked and I`m fairly sure it showed on my face…so I asked him if he needed any help…he said sure, told him I would run the pump and help him out as much as I could, he had already set the pump at 125 psi on the hose, I asked him if he wanted to keep the pressure at that setting and he said he would start with that and let me know….he finished packing up and headed to the nozzle…

and then I shot some video from pumpside at the truck….

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…and soon it looked like he had a quick knockdown of the heavy fire and smoke….as I was taking a few photos, I talked to the driver of the car who was standing there as well, he said his son had just joined the fire department as a new junior firefighter, he had just dropped his wife off at work and he was returning home to check the car, which had been acting up in the past week. He noticed black smoke from the rear exhaust pipe and as he pulled into the spot off the highway there, flames began coming up thru the floorboard at his feet, as he exited the car. 

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…the flames on both sides of the car kept him hopping back and forth a bit….

…he then moved in to concentrate on the dashboard console a bit more……

and….BOOM…fireworks ensued…roman candles appeared to be shooting everywhere in every direction !!….

…apparently the steering column was made of magnesium, which when burning, reacts violently with water, creating a nice 4th of July type fireworks display, looks like Roman Candles firing off in all directions from the car….I shot these photos and could not switch to video fast enough to capture those rockets….

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…the later half of this video above was the first indication to me that there was fuel in the gravel underneath the car that was re-igniting the car, can tell from the behavior of the flames quickly moving from rear to front of car close to Jimmy in the video…

Pretty soon Jimmy moved back to the other side of the car and tried to get to the flames underneath the car…flames came up on the other side of the car and appeared be dancing at times…obviously fed by the leaking fuel….

…how wild is that ???!!!

…and soon the fire began to spread under the front of the car and take off again due to the fuel re-igniting the car once again….

…then spread and ignited the rear of the car too….

…I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to switch over to foam and trying to remember how the foam system worked with this pumper…

…Jimmy stayed with it, pushing back as much as he could, then switched to the other side of the car once again and hit it hard there too…..

He took a break and walked over to check the water level in the tank, asked me to drop the pressure a little bit, so I brought it down to 90 lbs pressure on the line…told me the gas tank was leaking under the back seat and he couldn`t reach it with the stream of water….he then returned to the line and hit it hard again….

…and soon after, Damon Sumpter and his crew on Pumper 854, followed by Chief Eric, came around the corner on Hwy 185, and arrived to help finish extinguishing the car fire that refused to go out….

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…the car was re-igniting on the drivers side by the rear door once again as Pumper 854 pulled up and positioned in the northbound lane….Damon`s crew jumped out and walked up to Jimmy who took a short break and then began to hit it once again…

…and a few minutes later, had it knocked down once again….he and Gary opened hood to take a look at the engine compartment…

A Washington County Sheriffs Deputy arrived and parked in front of Pumper 834, checked with the driver about a wrecker and made arrangements with him to pickup the car at a later time since it was off the road. As I was getting ready to head back to town, Jimmy thanked me for the help, told him it was not a problem at all, brought back lots of memories. Once a firefighter, always a firefighter….in my humble opinion.