Firefighters In Need Of Donations As They Fight Fires in Extreme Heat

Drought conditions and high temperatures in our state are not only sparking more grass fires but pushing firefighters to their limit. 

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t take but one small ember to escape and you have a wildfire racing pretty quickly,” said Eric Harlow, the Fire Chief for the Guthrie Fire Department. 

Fire stations across the state are battling the drought on all fronts. 

“We have definitely seen an uptick in the number of grassfires just due to the dry weather and lack of rainfall which unfortunately seems like it’s going to persist for the near future for sure. It causes a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles, wear and tear on our guys in terms of hydration and exhaustion,” he said. 

Harlow said the temperature near a fire is around 150 degrees, taking a toll on their engines as they fight fires. 

“Our tanker for instance had a small fire break out on the pump unit yesterday just due to some of the heat,” he said. 

Firefighters are taking precautions while working but it only goes so far with all their gear on. 

“We’re going through a lot more bottled water, Gatorade, Powerade type drinks due to the heat. Trying to get those guys replenished and re-hydrated, taking more frequent breaks than we normally do on a fire just so we don’t wear these guys out,” he said. 

Departments need water and Gatorade donations as they fight fires in triple digit heat. 

“Be considerate of our volunteer departments and other fire departments in the area don’t just come bring it all to use because those guys need it just as much as we do,” said Harlow. 

If you want to help out, the Fire Association said the best thing to do is to drop off donations at your local fire station.