The Tennessee Division of Forestry and the U.S. Department of Energy will have controlled burns beginning at noon and ending at 7 p.m. Monday, April 5.
The controlled burns will continue Tuesday if necessary, the City of Oak Ridge said.
The controlled burn will be in the area of Wisconsin and Whippoorwill Drive in west Oak Ridge.
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Ray Burney has been promoted to battalion chief in the Oak Ridge Fire Department.
Burney, who has recently served as an Oak Ridge Fire Department captain, takes on the new role following Eric Rackard’s promotion to fire marshal last month, the city said in a press release.
Burney will be battalion chief of the ORFD’s A Shift.
“I truly do appreciate Chief (Travis) Solomon for giving me this opportunity in my career, and I look forward to working with everyone,” Burney said.
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The City of Oak Ridge has named Eric Rackard as its new fire marshal.
Rackard, who has recently served as an Oak Ridge Fire Department battalion chief, takes on the new role following Travis Solomon’s promotion to fire chief last month. Rackard joined the department in November 2007, a press release said.
“I am honored by this promotion and greater opportunity to serve the citizens of Oak Ridge,” Rackard said in the press release.
In the role of battalion chief, Rackard managed daily operation requirements for the Fire Department’s A Shift, including staffing, overtime, training, and logistics.
“I was also responsible for command and control on all major incidents on A Shift,” Rackard said. “I also lead a lot of trainings, including coordinating state commission training and serving as the hazardous materials team leader.”
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Tom Scott—photographer for the Oak Ridge Fire Department who kept historic fire trucks, equipment, and literature at his home—died Saturday. He was 88.
Scott was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, but he spent the last three decades in Oak Ridge serving as the fire department’s official photographer, the City of Oak Ridge said Thursday. Scott also took photos at other fires and crashes in the area, including in Blair, Marlow, and Oliver Springs.
Scott had moved to Oak Ridge in the 1970s to work on the development of the gas centrifuge process for enriching uranium.
In 1974, he joined the Oliver Springs Volunteer Fire Department, and in 1990, he joined the Oak Ridge Fire Department as their official photographer, the city said. That happened after ORFD responded to a large structure fire where Scott was taking pictures. When the fire chief at the time, William “Bo” Harris, saw the pictures, he decided the ORFD needed to have an on-site photographer at all incidents to document the fires for training, media, and historical preservation, the city said. Harris asked Scott to lead the effort.
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The City of Oak Ridge has named Travis Solomon as its new fire chief.
Solomon, who previously served as Oak Ridge Fire Department fire marshal, has served as interim fire chief since former Chief Darryl Kerley’s departure in August. Solomon begins serving as fire chief immediately, a press release said.
“Oak Ridge has always been the model and leading fire service,” Solomon said in the press release. “I want to continue that and enhance the services we provide to better our ability to serve the public.”
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Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley is leaving the Oak Ridge Fire Department on Friday, August 21, and he will become a full-time fire service instructor and coordinator for the State of Tennessee, a press release said.
Kerley has 43 years of active fire service with four different fire departments, the press release said. He was fire chief of three of those departments for 22 years.
Besides serving his last day as fire chief in Oak Ridge on Friday, August 21, Kerley will mark another milestone that day: It will be the last day of his six-year appointment to the Tennessee Commission on Firefighter Standards and Education.
“Serving as fire chief for the important and historical City of Oak Ridge and being appointed to the Fire Commission by Governor Bill Haslam have been the highlights of my professional career,” Kerley said in the press release. “It truly has been an honor and privilege to serve as fire chief of such a great city and to be part of the development of the national park at the K-25 site and the K-25 History Center. This is one of the finest fire departments I’ve ever been associated with and has some of the best-trained people in the State of Tennessee.”
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No one was injured, but a home was destroyed by a fire in Oak Ridge last week.
The fire was reported in the 100 block of East Pasadena Road early Monday, July 27, the Oak Ridge Fire Department said.
Firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at the home around 3:16 a.m. last Monday. When they arrived, fire crews found that 25 percent of home was on fire, with flames coming through the roof in the back corner.
Three engines, a tower truck, rescue truck, and battalion chief fought the fire for approximately 20 minutes before gaining control, the ORFD said. The Oak Ridge Electric Department responded to disconnect the power at the pole, and the Oak Ridge Police Department provided security.
[Read more…]Seven apartment residents were displaced after a kitchen fire on Wakefield Road on Friday, but no injuries were reported.
The fire was reported at about 8 p.m. Friday.
When crews arrived, the Oak Ridge Fire Department found a kitchen fire in one of six apartments. The fire was quickly extinguished, but there was heavy fire damage to that apartment, the ORFD said.
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Note: This story was updated at 8:35 a.m. Feb. 24.
No injuries were reported in a fire that destroyed a home on Outer Drive near Ogden Lane early Friday.
The cause of the fire, reported at about 2:19 a.m. Friday, is under investigation.
“The first arriving unit was on scene within minutes and found heavy smoke and fire coming from the residence,” the City of Oak Ridge said. “The resident was not home at the time of the fire.”
Outer Drive was closed at Ogden Lane on Friday morning as the Oak Ridge Fire Department watched for hot spots and continued to spray water on the charred home, which appeared to have a second story that had collapsed. The road re-opened shortly after 3 p.m. Friday.
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An Oak Ridge firefighter was injured in a fire in a vacant house on Artesia Drive early Friday, February 14.
The fire was reported at about 3:20 a.m. February 14.
When the Oak Ridge Fire Department arrived, firefighters found heavy smoke and fire coming from the windows and eaves of the home, a press release said.
“The fire crew entered through the front door and quickly extinguished the fire in the kitchen area,” the press release said.
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One person was flown to a hospital after a two-vehicle crash in west Oak Ridge on Monday morning, emergency responders said.
The crash was reported at about 6:15 a.m. Monday on Oak Ridge Turnpike near Salem Road. The Oak Ridge police and fire departments responded.
When they arrived, Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighters found a heavily damaged vehicle with the injured driver still inside. They quickly extinguished a small fire in the engine compartment of the vehicle and rescued the driver, emergency responders said. The injured driver was then flown by a Lifestar medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The driver of the second vehicle reported no injuries.
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