A Texas fire chief who was fighting historic wildfires across the Panhandle over the past week to protect a small town died Tuesday while extinguishing a house fire, officials said.
According to the Hutchinson County Emergency Management Agency, Fritch Fire Chief Zeb Smith, 40, was the first to arrive at a house fire that was not caused by wildfire and rushed inside to rescue anyone who may have been trapped. did. However, Smith “faced unexpected challenges” and did not leave the house.
Other firefighters entered the burning building and found Smith, officials said. Paramedics immediately began treatment and transported the chief to the hospital, where he died.
Hutchinson County Emergency Management Agency spokesman Brandon Stroup said Smith’s cause of death has not been released and an autopsy has been ordered.
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Fritch Fire Chief Zev Smith, 40, died Tuesday while fighting a house fire unrelated to the wildfires raging in the Panhandle. (Hutchinson County Emergency Management Agency)
Slope said Smith and other volunteer firefighters in the area have been responding to an active wildfire tearing through the Panhandle River for the past nine days. Stroup said he believed that while wildfires were not the cause of the house fire, the continued response to the fire “undoubtedly” played a role in Smith’s death.
Another home was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire on February 28 in Fritch, Texas, leaving a charred vehicle near the burn site. Officials said the house fire Chief Smith responded to Tuesday was not caused by a wildfire, but the chief had been battling a wildfire for more than a week. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neal, File)
“He and his team were out most nights, every day, getting very little sleep, selflessly going out and doing everything they could to save the community and keep us intact.” said Stroup.
Governor Greg Abbott, during a press conference about the wildfires, praised Smith along with all the firefighters battling the historic blaze.
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“He was willing to risk his life to protect the property of others, and that’s what Texas heroism is all about,” Abbott said of Smith.
Hutchinson County officials said Smith was remembered as having a “heart of gold” and “the epitome of a true leader.” He leaves behind two sons, ages 9 and 22.
The cause of the house fire was not immediately clear.
Firefighters continue to extinguish a wildfire burning in the countryside around Amarillo, where officials say as many as 500 buildings have been destroyed.
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The fires include the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history. The fire, which has burned about 1,700 square miles and spread into neighboring Oklahoma, is about 37% contained as of Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
