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Photo by: Pratt Volunteer Fire Department
25 Mar 2018

Two volunteer firefighter fatalities in fire truck flip-over

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UNITED STATES: Authorities in West Virginia say two firefighters were killed while driving to the scene of an accident when a volunteer fire department’s truck flipped while responding to a call about a highway accident.

Three other firefighters were also injured in the accident, which happened while driving out to an accident scene where there allegedly also were fatalities. 

According to Associated Press, Kanawha County Manager Jennifr Herrald said in an email Saturday night that members of the Pratt Volunteer Fire Department were on their way to crash site on the West Virginia Turnpike when their truck flipped. She said five firefighters were aboard. Two were confirmed killed and three were injured.

She said survivors were being treated at CAMC General hospital. The names of the victims and survivors were not immediately released.

County Commission President Kent Carper said in a written statement that it’s believed to be the worst accident the Pratt volunteer fire service has ever suffered.

 

Metro News reports that a Pratt Volunteer Fire Department apparatus was en route to a serious vehicle wreck when the incident occurred sometime between 6 and 7 p.m. Saturday night.

Two of the five firefighters riding in the vehicle were killed and the other three suffered serious injuries, according to Kanawha County officials.

“This is a tragic event and believed to be the worst accident involving our volunteer fire service has ever suffered,” Commission President Kent Carper said.

Pratt is a community of less than 1,000 people along the southern bank of the Kanawha River about 23 miles southeast of Charleston.