Texas fire chief, 19-year-old volunteer firefighter killed in crash while returning to station from a call
The chief of a Texas Panhandle volunteer fire department and one of his firefighters were killed when a tractor-trailer rig slammed head-on into their department sport utility vehicle, officials said. The crash happened at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. 54 northeast of Dalhart, about 70 miles northwest of Amarillo, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
The Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department SUV was returning to the station from a call when the tractor-trailer traveling the opposite direction attempted a pass on the two-lane road and slammed into the SUV, killing Fire Chief Curtis Brown, 51, and Firefighter Brendan Torres, 19, DPS Sgt. Cindy Barkley said.
The truck driver was taken to a hospital with unknown injuries, Barkley said.
The investigation was ongoing, she said.
Flags at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial are at half-staff to honor Brown and Torres, the fire department said in a Facebook post Thursday.
"Our thoughts and prayers as a community are with the families and firefighter brothers of the Dalhart firefighters killed in the line of duty," Hartley County Judge Gordon and Dallam County Judge Ritchey said in a statement.
Torres was described as a hard worker who was eager to join the Dalhart Volunteer Fire Department, CBS affiliate KFDA-TV reported.
"I think Brendan carried that application around with him for a year for Dalhart Fire Department the day he turned 18," said Scott White, chief of Hartley Volunteer Fire and EMS. "He walked in and handed it to Curtis — he was that kid. He was the first one if he was available, he was the first one at the station. He lived and breathed it. I spent a lot of time with him and he was a great kid."
Funeral services for Brown and Torres will held on Monday, Oct. 10, the fire department said.
Dalhart is about 30 miles south of the Oklahoma border, 30 miles east of the New Mexico line and 65 miles south of the Kansas-Oklahoma border.
According to the U. S. Fire Administration, there have been 77 firefighter fatalities in 2022.
