WAGONER COUNTY — Several homes were saved after Wagoner County firefighters worked overnight to stop a 160 acre grass fire.
More than half a dozen agencies responded, including initial responders the Oak Grove Fire Department.
2 News spoke to the Oak Grove Fire Chief, and he explained a fire sales tax was critical, making sure they had the equipment they needed to get the job done.
On Oct. 29, a day after a 160-acre grass fire, an Oak Grove firefighter made sure the area near 21st and 280th was okay after a downed PSO transmission line sparked the fire.
“It was hot,” said Jeff Riddle. “It was hot. Very fast moving, very quick incident.”
Oak Grove Firefighter Jeff Riddle was one of the dozens of responding firefighters. On Oct. 29, he was checking on homeowners like Nick and Mary Johnson who were on the front lines of the flames.
“I was scared,” said Mary Johnson. “I was really scared to see that fire so close to everything and such dry conditions and all that wind it’s just very frightening.”
It was all hands on deck, with more than half a dozen agencies helping fight this fire. Even neighbors pulled out their own hoses to make sure every ember was out.
“That’s what you have to have is bodies and trucks and the equipment helps,” said Oak Grove Fire Chief Riley Shepherd.
Chief Shepherd says the equipment they used—drones, UTVs, and, of course, their fire trucks—was instrumental in getting the job done.
He says equipment is only possible because voters protected the firefighter’s sales tax funding in a controversial election on March 5, 2024.
“They’re spending their tax dollars on us to protect them and their homes and their property, and that’s what we want to do, and that is our number one mission here,” said Chief Shepherd.
2 News covered the proposal from the beginning that would’ve cut the fixed tax funding for all 14 Wagoner County fire departments in half to pay for a county wide ambulance service. More than 11,000 people, about 77%, voted against the proposition.
Chief Shepherd says the money they have to work with is crucial to get the job done.
“We’re really fortunate to have that sales tax in Wagoner County and it really did pay off last night,” said Chief Shepherd.
Neighbors like Johnson agree.
“They have to have that equipment,” said Johnson. “There was so much equipment out here and they just have to be able to do their job and they have to have that equipment.”
Oak Grove is a volunteer fire department covering about 30 square miles with more than 30 volunteers.
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