One Firefighter Remains 'Very Critical'

Posted: Tuesday, October 5, 1999 - 9:30 PM

One firefighter was killed and two others critically injured Monday morning when they came into contact with live wires while battling a grass fire in rural Missouri.

Firefifghter Jeff Thompson, a 20-year-old volunteer firefighter with the Howell County Rural Fire District #1 in West Plains, Missouri, was pronounced dead at an area hospital following the 7 a.m. incident, Fire Chief Joe Auffert said.

Firefighter Mark Doss was upgraded from fair to good condition Tuesday, but Firefighter Ella Stevens remained in critical condition Tuesday.

"She's very critical," Auffert said.

Doss an Stevens are being treated at Saint John's Hospital in Springfield, about 100 miles from the scene.

Units were dispatched for a reported grass fire at about 7 a.m. Monday morning. Other arriving firefighters found the three firefighters down at the scene and reportedly started CPR on all three. All three had pulses when they left the scene, according to fire officials.

Thompson, who has been with the department just five months, is survived by a wife and very young child, the chief said.

Funeral services are scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. at the Faith Assembly Church in West Plains with burial to follow at the Oak Lawn Cemetary. A memorial fund will be set up through the Missouri Souther Bank in West Plains later this week.

The death is the department's first in its 18-year history. The all-volunteer agency has about 26 active members, according to the Chief.

More information will be posted when available.