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Oak Ridge firefighters help rescue 12 people trapped in cars surrounded by fires near Dollywood

Posted at 3:03 pm November 30, 2016
By John Huotari 2 Comments

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews helped respond to the Sevier County wildfire starting Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

People being removed from vehicles while Oak Ridge Fire Department crews help respond to the wildfires that raged across Sevier County on Monday, Nov. 29, 2016. (Photo by Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 4:30 p.m.

Oak Ridge firefighters helped rescue 12 people and four dogs from three cars surrounded by fires behind Dollywood near Pigeon Forge on Monday.

The 12 visitors had been staying in rental cabins behind the Dollywood theme park.

The rescue happened at about 11 p.m. Monday after wildfires fueled by high winds spread from Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Gatlinburg area.

Before the rescue, an Oak Ridge Fire Department crew, along with five Maryville firefighters, had responded to several fire-related situations in Pigeon Forge, most of them in the Dollywood area, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Pigeon Forge is near Gatlinburg.

At about 11 p.m., the firefighters were dispatched to Mitchell Road to help a man trapped in a cabin with fire all around him. But firefighters were unable to get there because the road was blocked by downed trees and power poles, the press release said. Firefighters began cutting trees until they encountered downed power lines and transformers.

Once Sevier County Electric System workers arrived and cut electrical power to the area, the crew again entered the fire area to rescue the man, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Fire, Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider Tagged With: Bill Haslam, brush fire, City of Oak Ridge, Darryl Kerley, Dollywood, fire, forest fire, Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, James Jordain, Jordan Alcorn, Mark Watson, mutual aid, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Pigeon Forge, rescue, wildfire

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

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

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…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Eric Rackard, firefighters, Gage Whitman, Greg Fisher, James Jordain, Jody Durham, Jordan Alcorn, Josh Kerley, Knoxville Fire Department, Marlow Fire Department, Oak Ridge Fire Department, Oliver Springs Fire Department, ORFD, promotions, Rural/Metro Fire Department

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Classifieds

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