The chief of a Texas Panhandle volunteer fire department and one of his firefighters were killed when a tractor-trailer rig slammed head-on into their department sport utility vehicle, officials said. (Read More Here).
The crash happened at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. 54 northeast of Dalhart, about 70 miles northwest of Amarillo, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers as a community are with the families and firefighter brothers of the Dalhart firefighters killed in the line of duty,” Hartley County Judge Gordon and Dallam County Judge Ritchey said in a statement.
Torres was described as a hard worker who was eager to join the Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department, CBS affiliate KFDA-TV reported.
“I think Brendan carried that application around with him for a year for Dalhart Fire Department the day he turned 18,” said Scott White, chief of Hartley Volunteer Fire and EMS. “He walked in and handed it to Curtis — he was that kid. He was the first one if he was available, he was the first one at the station. He lived and breathed it. I spent a lot of time with him and he was a great kid.”
Both Torres and Brown were pronounced dead at the scene.
“It is with hearts full of sadness and grief, that we inform you, last night DVFD lost 2 of our own in a vehicle accident,” the department wrote. “Please give the families, Firefighters, and their families space and time as we figure out how to move forward.”
The morning after the crash, Dalhart Mayor Justin Moore asked that businesses within the city lower flags to half-staff in honor of Torres and Brown.
Funeral services for Brown and Torres will held on Monday, Oct. 10, the fire department said.
Dalhart is about 30 miles south of the Oklahoma border, 30 miles east of the New Mexico line and 65 miles south of the Kansas-Oklahoma border.
According to the U. S. Fire Administration, there have been 77 firefighter fatalities in 2022
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