Firefighters called to propane fire, rollover

The local fire departments have been busy with several calls over the past week, including two that required some special skills.

A propane tank fire at an oil lease on the Nail Ranch last Wednesday, Aug. 1 was extinguished without much incident because the pop-out valve had already blown out by the time firemen began working at the scene.

Members of both the city department and rural department answered the call, according to Albany VFD Fire Chief Kyle Tischler.

“It made it much safer to work because it was a low pressure fire after the valve blew, so it was pretty easy to put out,” said Tischler.

A 911 call on Saturday to help with a one-car rollover a few miles north of Albany required more time and more expertise, the fire chief said.

The department’s Jaws of Life had to be used to extricate the driver, who was the only one in the car.

The accident was possibly caused by a blowout, Tischler said.

“The vehicle was on its side, and that always complicates things because you don’t want it to tip over while you’re working,” he said. “But the man was a retired firefighter, and he knew what we needed to do and worked with us.”

One of the paramedics was able to crawl inside the vehicle to monitor the patient during the extrication. He was then taken by ambulance to Abilene.

Although Tischler wasn’t sure, he thinks the patient is a resident of Callahan County.

“This was one of the few times I just stepped back and actually worked in the role of fire chief, which I don’t do very often,” said Tischler. “The guys did a really good job and everyone contributed with some good ideas about how to get the victim out.”

The fire chief said, however, that the department is still in desperate need of more volunteers, especially younger ones.

“We have 14 on the roster, with the active number closer to 11,” he stated. “Only one of those is what I would consider young, and we appreciate the fact that he comes and spends time with us for meetings and training. We really need more volunteers in their 20s and 30s.”

The city fire department meets regularly on the first and third Mondays of the month, while the Shackelford County Rural Fire Department meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays. All the meetings start at 7:00 p.m.