Eric Rackard Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Motorcyclist airlifted to UT after crashing into power pole

Posted at 9:54 am August 8, 2018
By John Huotari 3 Comments

A motorcyclist was flown to a Knoxville hospital in a medical helicopter with what were described as serious injuries after crashing into a power pole on West Outer Drive on Wednesday morning, Aug. 8, 2018. authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 2:50 p.m.

A 20-year-old motorcyclist was flown to a Knoxville hospital in a medical helicopter with what were described as serious injuries after crashing into a power pole on West Outer Drive on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash, which was a few blocks east of North Illinois Avenue in an area with a curve and a hill, was reported at about 7:10 a.m. Wednesday. The motorcycle was heading west when it left the roadway and struck a utility pole, according to the Oak Ridge Police Department.

After the crash, the male motorcyclist was airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville from Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, said Eric Rackard, battalion chief for the Oak Ridge Fire Department. [Read more…]

Three people escape house fire on Northwestern

Posted at 10:50 am November 26, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Three people escaped with no injuries from a house fire on Northwestern Avenue early Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Three people escaped with no injuries from a house fire on Northwestern Avenue early Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, authorities said. The Oak Ridge Fire Department and Oak Ridge Police Department both responded. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Three people escaped with no injuries from a house fire on Northwestern Avenue in the Woodland neighborhood early Sunday, authorities said.

An adult male and two juveniles were home at the time of the fire, and all three escaped, said Eric Rackard, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief.

The fire was reported near the intersection with Nasson Lane just after midnight Sunday.

The cause is under investigation, Rackard said. [Read more…]

Woman escapes, pets evacuated after lightning strikes home, sparking fire

Posted at 2:56 pm September 5, 2017
By John Huotari 2 Comments

A woman escaped and pets were evacuated after lightning struck a home on Albion Road in east Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, Sept. 5, 2017, likely destroying the residence, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A woman escaped and pets were evacuated after lightning struck a home in east Oak Ridge on Tuesday morning, sparking a fire and likely destroying the residence, authorities said.

The lightning strike was reported at 105 Albion Road at 9:39 a.m. Tuesday. The home is just north of Emory Valley Road and just west of Melton Lake Drive.

The lighting strike occurred roughly in the center of the home, and it started an attic fire that spread across the house.

The female resident was watching television and she felt it, said Gary Williamson, Oak Ridge Fire Department engineer and investigator. She got out of her chair to investigate and saw smoke coming out of outlets and vents. The woman, who was reported to be okay, went to a neighbor’s house.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley arrived quickly and reported that the fire was already through the roof, Williamson said. [Read more…]

Two people have minor injuries after two fires this month

Posted at 3:38 pm March 12, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A fire was reported in a storage room at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Two people were injured in fires in Oak Ridge this month, although the injuries were reported to be minor.

The first fire was reported at 515 Utica Circle in central Oak Ridge at about 3:33 p.m. Friday, March 3. One adult was taken by an ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, said Sergeant Jeremy Huddleston of the Oak Ridge Police Department. The fire was extinguished by the Oak Ridge Fire Department.

ORFD Battalion Chief Eric Rackard said a stove eye that had been left on in the second-floor apartment started a fire in grease in a pan. The resident tried to bring the pan outside to throw it outside, but the grease was burning too much for the resident to be able to handle the pan properly, Rackard said.

The fire burned the resident’s arm, Rackard said. The injuries were described as minor. The fire was deemed to be accidental.

The second fire was reported at Tennessee Tool and Engineering (TTE Casting Technologies Inc.) in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge at about 3:40 p.m. Thursday. That fire started in a storage room, Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said. [Read more…]

Couple escape with their dog from house fire

Posted at 9:38 pm June 15, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Fire Department puts out a house fire at 106 Wayside Road on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. June 16.

An Oak Ridge man and woman and their dog escaped from a fire that heavily damaged a home on Wayside Road on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 5:32 p.m. Wednesday.

The couple and their dog were reported to be out of the house and in a neighbor’s yard when firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

The fire appeared to have started at a propane grill on a back porch, although the cause hasn’t been determined, said Eric Rackard, Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Fire Department announces promotions, new firefighters

Posted at 2:15 pm December 23, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Jody Durham

Submitted

The Oak Ridge Fire Department recently held a ceremony to promote three officers and to introduce four new firefighters and their families to the organization. Congratulations to these recently promoted officers and new firefighters.

Jody Durham was promoted from battalion chief to assistant chief of operations. He has been with Oak Ridge Fire Department for more than 10 years. Durham has experience as a U.S. Department of Energy firefighter and as a paramedic with Morgan County Ambulance Service.

Eric Rackard

Eric Rackard was promoted from captain to battalion chief and is assigned as the A-Shift commander. He has been with Oak Ridge Fire Department for eight years, and he has served as a firefighter/engineer and paramedic.

Rackard is an Air Force veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. [Read more…]

Apartment building evacuated after carbon monoxide leak found

Posted at 9:20 am December 16, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Rolling-Hills-Apartments-Carbon-Monoxide-Leak-Dec-15-2015

Oak Ridge firefighters check apartments at Rolling Hills Apartments after a carbon monoxide leak was found in one building on Tuesday night, Dec. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 10:05 a.m.

A three-story apartment building was evacuated and a 56-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after firefighters found a carbon monoxide leak in a boiler in the basement of the building on Tuesday night.

The cause of the leak in the boiler on Vanderbilt Drive wasn’t immediately clear. The boiler is used to heat water in that building, and it won’t be used again until it’s repaired and re-inspected, authorities said.

At about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Fire Department received a call that a woman who lives directly above the boiler at Rolling Hills Apartments was dizzy and throwing up. Her father, who uses oxygen, told ORFD Captain Ray Burney that the family’s dog was “acting funny.” [Read more…]

Man injured in truck fire; others OK as fuel ignites

Posted at 3:37 pm November 27, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pickup-Truck-Fire-Briarcliff-Nov-27-2015

The driver of a pickup truck that caught on fire on Friday afternoon, Nov. 27, 2015, was taken to the hospital with minor burns, and emergency workers were not injured when fuel vapors ignited after the fire was first extinguished, authorities said. Pictured above are ORFD Battalion Chief Eric Rackard, left, and ORPD Officer Christopher Wallace. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The driver of a pickup truck that caught on fire Friday afternoon was taken to the hospital with minor burns, and emergency workers were not injured when fuel vapors ignited after the fire was first extinguished, authorities said.

The 62-year-old man tried to open the hood of the blue Ford Ranger and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, said Oak Ridge Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Rackard. The man, who was not identified, received minor burns on both hands.

The cause of the fire at Diversicare of Oak Ridge, on Elmhurst Drive near Hank’s Market on Emory Valley Road, was unknown.

But a fuel line on the engine ruptured, and gasoline vapors ignited while emergency workers tried to plug the line.

“Anytime you see that, you worry,” Rackard said. [Read more…]

Woman dies after trying to save pets from house fire

Posted at 9:29 am November 20, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Firefighters battle a blaze at a Ridge Lane home on Wednesday. A woman who tried to save her pets from the fire died overnight. (Photo by Tom Scott)

Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m. Nov. 23.

The 65-year-old woman who was burned and seriously injured while trying to save three pets from a house fire on Wednesday afternoon died overnight at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, authorities said.

Martha Babb Bailey and Adra Denton of Oak Ridge had arrived at Bailey’s home at 131 Ridge Lane around 3 p.m. Wednesday after grocery shopping. When they opened the front door, the house, which is in Orchard Knob subdivision in Anderson County, burst into flames. Denton called 911 to report the fire, and Bailey ran into the burning home to try to rescue two dogs and a cat, Anderson County Sheriff Paul White said.

But Bailey’s clothes caught fire, and she collapsed in the living room, White said. Denton was unable to reach her and called 911 again to say her friend was trapped in the burning single-story home. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge firefighters save five lives, fire trucks help, chief says

Posted at 5:40 pm September 15, 2014
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Oak Ridge Firefighters Lifesaving Medals and Harness Family

Oak Ridge firefighter and engineer Michael Vanosdale, left; Captain Eric Rackard, second from left; and paramedic Austin Keathley, right, helped save the life of Jason Harness, 50, second from right, on July 21. The three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals during a September 5 ceremony for three new fire engines. Also pictured is Nicole Harness. “These are the men that saved my husband’s life,” she said.

Oak Ridge firefighters have saved five lives so far this year, and the department’s fire trucks—which carry $30,000 worth of medical gear, including cardiac equipment—played a key role, Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said this month.

The five lives have all been saved since January; they were cardiac saves, Kerley said.

“That wouldn’t happen without these trucks,” the chief said during a September 5 ceremony to unveil three new Sutphen fire engines, the first for the Oak Ridge Fire Department in about 16 years.

Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley

During that ceremony, three firefighters received Lifesaving Medals for their role in saving the life of Jason Harness, 50, on July 21 at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Harness’ wife, Nicole Harness, reported that her husband was in the car and not breathing that summer evening. The rescuers who responded moved Jason Harness from the vehicle to the ground, where “he was found to be pulseless, not breathing, and unresponsive,” Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said.

Harness had had a massive heart attack, with 100 percent blockage. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge emergency workers, preschool checking child car seats

Posted at 7:56 am July 19, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge police and fire departments have teamed up with the Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to have a quarterly child seat safety checkpoint. By mid-morning Thursday, they had replaced seven expired or damaged seats.

The Oak Ridge police and fire departments have teamed up with the Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool and East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to have a quarterly child seat safety checkpoint.

By mid-morning Thursday, the team had replaced seven expired or damaged seats.

The free safety checkpoint continued until 12:30 p.m. Friday on New York Avenue across from the preschool. Car seats were checked and installed by certified technicians.

On Friday night, Oak Ridge Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Josh Waldo said the team had checked 72 car seats and removed 31 unsafe seats.

“Great to know that we have made 31 kids that much safer over the past two days,” Waldo said. [Read more…]