Fire Department

OXFORD, Mo. -- Pumper trucks with flattened tires and busted windshields have put the Oxford Arkansas volunteer fire department out of service. Firefighters say vandals pried through a metal door to get inside the rural Izard County firehouse, and once they did, broke or damaged nearly everything in sight. If you know anything about the crime, call the Izard County Sheriff's Department at (870)368-4203.

OZARK COUNTY, Mo -- Everyone loves a good comeback story. For one volunteer fire department in Ozark County, the odds were certainly against them. April 2011 was a month that many would like to forget at the Timber Knob Volunteer Fire Department. They were the victims of arson. Now they are bouncing back. "We are rebuilding. They can kick us down but we aren't down forever," said Timber Knob Fire Chief Ruby Winslow in April of last year. KY3 traveld to Ozark County after arsonists attacked her fire station.

STRAFFORD -- In an effort to save more lives and homes, an Ozarks fire department is taking measures to ensure it's easier to find houses. The Strafford Fire Protection District recently started making reflective metal plates with house numbers available to the community.    The plates are screwed onto mailboxes or posts so house numbers can be easily spotted. "At night, as you're driving down the road, if notice you can't see many house numbers. And if they do have house numbers, they're everywhere all over the houses.

NIXA, Mo. -- The Nixa Fire Department says an Empire District Electric crew cut through a propane line owned by Amerigas on Deffer Drive on the north side of the city.   Fire department and electric company crews worked to stop the leak on Monday afternoon. Deffer Road for a time was closed to traffic, which was diverted through English Village trailer park.  The fire department notified the Nixa School District so that some bus routes could be diverted.  Deffer Road was open again by 4 p.m.

STONE COUNTY, Mo --   He's only ten, but he's the honorary chief of a fire department.     A community came together to make sure a little boy's dream became a reality. Victor Kelbaugh wants to be a hero. Just like any other firefighter he wants to help people. Responders say this young boy has made a lasting impression. Fire trucks arrived in Victor's neighborhood Sunday afternoon. In his front yard, folks with the Southern Stone County Fire Protection District surprised him and conducted a ceremony.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – City police want to know why a woman was knocking on doors just minutes before a house fire early Wednesday. Someone called the fire department to a home in the 2500 block of East Grand Street around 5:30 a.m. Two people in the home got out okay. The cause is under investigation.

 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Investigators are searching for what sparked an apartment fire in Springfield Someone driving by saw the flames on the first floor of the Nu Elm Apartments and called the fire department just before 4:30.  The complex is located in the 400 block of South New Street, near Walnut.  The fire did significant damage.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Springfield Fire Department is used to coming to the rescue of anyone in need.  Now Springfield Underground has come to the rescue of the fire department -- for training. With sub-freezing temperatures in the area in the past two weeks, the fire department normally would have had to put off some vital equipment and truck training for its newest firefighters.  When it contacted the folks at Springfield Underground as a possible place to train, they were more than willing.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The city fire department received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $206,300.  The grant is to further develop the department's fitness program, as well as providing training to support officer development and certification. This grant is a competitive grant.  Peers from across the country rate and select those grants that meet national priorities and will have the greatest impact on local communities.  The grant requires a 20 percent local match, which will come from the Fire Department's normal operating budget.

EXETER, Mo. -- A fire severely damaged a restaurant on Wednesday morning.  It may have started as a grease fire late in the morning, but officially the cause was undetermined by Wednesday evening. Several fire departments fought the fire. The Exeter Cafe was open when it started, but Exeter Fire Chief Jim Matthew didn't know if any customers were there at the time. The cafe is one of four side-by-side buildings, but the fire did not damage the other three buildings in the row. "There's some water damage to the apartment next door but, other than that, all the damage is just to the cafe," said volunteer firefighter Kirk Wynn.

PURDY, Mo. - Four fire departments fought a blaze in a vacant business south of Purdy Tuesday morning. Firefighters say they were called out just before 5 a.m. to a building on Missouri Route 37 just south of city limits, and gained the upper hand on the blaze after roughly two hours. The structure, now a vacant business, was once a bar, but it's unknown how long the building has been closed. The Purdy fire captain on scene said no electricity was running to the building.

ROGERSVILLE, Mo. -- Living behind closed gates may provide a sense of security but doing so can also create barriers for those trying to deliver help. "They serve a good purpose in trying to keep people out and privacy and things like that, but, when the fire department needs to get in, that becomes the issue," said Logan-Rogersville Fire District assistant chief Robert Talburt. Logan-Rogersville firefighters have run into problems being greeted by gates and no way to get in.  "We are just trying to overcome those issues.  Again, the seconds or minutes from the delay can mean a big difference in how we respond to the incident," Talburt said.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- City police detectives released the identities of three people found dead in a home after a fire last Saturday.  They say it appears the two children did not die from the fire, which appears to have been intentionally set in the bedroom. The fire was at 1450 N. Texas Ave. about 9 a.m.   Neighbors and passersby say they banged on the doors and tried to alert people inside, but were repelled by flames and heavy black smoke.  They heard smoke detectors blaring.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The city fire department received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $206,300.  The grant is to further develop the department's fitness program, as well as providing training to support officer development and certification. This grant is a competitive grant.  Peers from across the country rate and select those grants that meet national priorities and will have the greatest impact on local communities.  The grant requires a 20 percent local match, which will come from the Fire Department's normal operating budget.

OZARK, Mo  -  The Ozark Fire Department is hoping to get some new equipment, and they're asking for the public's help. They've entered a contest sponsored by Phenix Fire Helmets to win 40 new fire helmets.  The department says the helmets they have now are about seven years old but there isn't enough money in the budget to buy new ones. If the department wins the contest for the 40 new Phenix TC-1 helmets, they say it will help offer them the protection they need to keep their community safe.  "We could use them, of course, any fire department could use them because of the tough economic times right now, we're struggling just as well as several other departments out there," says Cpt. T.J. Hughes with the Ozark Fire Protection District.

STONE COUNTY, Mo --   He's only ten, but he's the honorary chief of a fire department.     A community came together to make sure a little boy's dream became a reality. Victor Kelbaugh wants to be a hero. Just like any other firefighter he wants to help people. Responders say this young boy has made a lasting impression. Fire trucks arrived in Victor's neighborhood Sunday afternoon. In his front yard, folks with the Southern Stone County Fire Protection District surprised him and conducted a ceremony.

STRAFFORD -- In an effort to save more lives and homes, an Ozarks fire department is taking measures to ensure it's easier to find houses. The Strafford Fire Protection District recently started making reflective metal plates with house numbers available to the community.    The plates are screwed onto mailboxes or posts so house numbers can be easily spotted. "At night, as you're driving down the road, if notice you can't see many house numbers. And if they do have house numbers, they're everywhere all over the houses.

Springfield - A man faces charges for two fires that investigators believe were intentionally set. On December 3 the fire department was called to two homes, on Valley Road and View Avenue. They sit about 10 blocks apart just west of Highway 65.  At one of the fires police detained 24 year old Harrison  Charlesworth.  He's now been charged with two counts of arson. No one was hurt in the fires, but a woman and several pets had to be rescued from the smokey homes.

OZARK, Mo. - Smoke detectors installed by the Ozark Fire Department may have saved a family from their burning home Wednesday morning. The flames started in the 2100 block of West Longview, south of Tracker Marine, around midnight. Two adults and two children made it out, but the dad suffered burns on one of his legs. Investigators are searching for a cause. The alarms were installed just two months ago.