Incident Name: Laurel County Grass Fire
Date: 11/8/1987, 1600 hrs
Personnel: Basil Vaughn
Age: 48
Agency/Organization: Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, East Bernstadt, Kentucky
Position: fire chief
Summary: On November 8, 1987, Basil Vaughn was on a knoll overlooking his firefighters who were fighting a fire that threatened to burn a church and a home off Winding Blade Road. He collapsed and was taken to Marymount Hospital where he died in the emergency room.
Chief Basil Vaughn
Maps
Winding Blade Holiness Church and a home off Winding Blade Road, East Bernstadt, Kentucky
{mosmap lat=’37.273866’|lon=’-84.138868’|marker=’0’|text=’General fire location, London, KY’}
Marymount Hospital’s emergency room, London, KY
{mosmap lat=’37.13111’|lon=’-84.08278’|marker=’0’|text=’Marymount Hospital’s emergency room, London, KY’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- NWCG brief report, 1987Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department, East Bernstadt, KY
heart attack at a woods fire
1 fatality
- USFA Memorial Database: Basil Vaughn
- Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department Memorial page with news articles and photos: Chief Basil Vaughn
- US Social Security Death Index: B Vaughn
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Media Articles and Reports
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- In 2002: Members of the Route 377 Fire Department in Northeastern Kentucky have purchased the Hickory Flats Fire Lookout Tower, formerly part of the old Cumberland National Forest, now the Daniel Boone NF. The tower which has been inactive will be restored and staffed by volunteers during fire season. The tower grounds will be deciated in the memory of Kentucky firefighters — including Basil Vaughn — who have lost their lives fighting wildfires across Kentucky.
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