Incident Name: Wesley Fire, Atoka County OK
Date: January 3, 2009
Personnel: John C. Myers
Age: 61
Agency/Organization: Union Chapel Volunteer Fire Department
Position: firefighter / mechanic
Summary: On January 3, 2009, Firefighter John C. Myers passed away from injuries received in a motor vehicle accident while working at the scene of an outdoor grass fire.
Myers was operating a fire department brush truck and traveling south on gravel County Road Wesley, near the Pittsburg County line (OK), when his son, Firefighter Juston Myers, also working the fire and operating a privately owned vehicle heading north on CR Wesley, crossed left of center on the narrow gravel road in heavy smoke obstructed conditions and collided head on with the fire department vehicle his father was driving.
Personnel from several fire departments in the area worked for more than an hour and a half to free Firefighter John C. Myers from the wreckage. Firefighter Juston Myers and a passenger in the privately owned vehicle were both injured in the accident. Juston was treated at the scene and his passenger, Clayton Rice, was taken to a nearby hospital with head, leg and arm injuries.
Maps
On County Road Wesley, USNG: 15S TU 3497 3518 (6.67 km due east of US Hwy 69), Atoka County, OK.
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Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- USFA Memorial Database: John Covington “JC” Myers
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