Fire chief in Texas town hit hard by wildfires dies while fighting a house fire

FRITCH, Texas -- A Texas occurrence main whose tiny municipality was among the hardest deed past week by historical blazes sweeping crossed the Panhandle died Tuesday portion warring a location fire, authorities said.

The location occurrence that Fritch Fire Chief Zeb Smith, 40, responded to wasn't caused by a wildfire, but Smith had been battling the wildfires for implicit a week, said Brandon Strope, spokesperson for the Hutchinson County Office for Emergency Management. Strope said that aft Smith, who was archetypal to arrive, entered the location to cheque connected immoderate occupants, helium did not exit. Other firefighters recovered him, and EMS began aesculapian treatment, but helium died astatine the hospital.

Stope said Smith's origin of decease hasn't been clarified, and an autopsy has been ordered.

"Him and his squad were retired each day, astir nights, got precise small slumber and conscionable selflessly went retired and did everything they could to prevention their assemblage and support america intact," Strope said.

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Firefighters are inactive trying to extinguish wildfires that person been burning crossed agrarian areas astir Amarillo, which officials accidental person destroyed arsenic galore arsenic 500 structures. Those wildfires see the Smokehouse Creek fire, which is the largest wildfire successful Texas history. The fire, which has burned astir 1,700 quadrate miles and spilled into neighboring Oklahoma, was astir 37% contained arsenic of Tuesday.

The announcement of Smith's decease came hours earlier Republican Gov. Greg Abbott met with firefighters successful Canadian, different municipality that's experienced dense destruction. Abbott started the quality league by offering his condolences connected Smith's death.

"He was consenting to enactment his ain beingness connected the enactment to prevention the spot of others, and that is what Texas heroism is each about," Abbott said.

During the quality conference, Abbott spoke astir the mode radical person been pulling unneurotic to assistance amid the demolition from the wildfires and besides noted that determination are inactive galore needs, including an "extraordinary" request for hay for cattle to eat. That, helium said, is simply a request that volition past for months.

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Abbott said that with the wildfires inactive burning, it's important that residents stay vigilant.

"Even though advancement has been made, it's incorrect if anybody thinks the occurrence is implicit and they tin fto down their guard," helium said.

A acold beforehand that moved into the country Monday brought chill temperatures and higher humidity, which helps crews marque strides successful containing the fires.

"We're making advancement here, that doesn't mean that the occurrence doesn't person imaginable to move," said Terry Krasko, a spokesperson with the Southern Area Incident Management Blue team, a squad of federal, state, and section agencies.

And, helium said, portion there's a tiny imaginable for rainfall toward the extremity of the week, determination are concerns astir the anticipation past of lightning igniting different fires. And much adust upwind is expected implicit the weekend, helium said.

Fritch Mayor Tom Ray has said that the city's bluish borderline was deed by a devastating wildfire successful 2014, portion past week's blaze burned mostly to the southbound of the town, sparing the residents who unrecorded successful the bosom of the community.

Ray said Tuesday that Smith had started enactment astatine the Fritch Fire Department successful 2017 and became main successful 2020. Before that, helium worked astatine a Chevron Phillips occurrence department.

Ray said Smith is survived by 2 sons, ages 9 and 22. The politician besides added, his dependable breaking, "To me, helium was 1 of my kids."

Although officials person not released an authoritative origin of the Smokehouse Creek fire, a suit filed Friday alleges a downed powerline adjacent the municipality of Stinnett connected Feb. 26 sparked the blaze.

READ MORE: Texas Smokehouse Creek Fire update: New suit blames fallen powerfulness rod for starting blaze