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Icy road causes roll-over fire engine crash

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A firefighter with the Central Polk County Fire Protection District was hurt in a single-vehicle wreck at around 10:45 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23 after he responded to a house fire.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report said that Edward R. Lamke, Jr., 46, of Goodson was westbound in a 2019 Spartan Fire Engine on Rt. C, three miles east of Huron, when he traveled off the right side of the roadway and overturned.

Lamke had responded to the fire in Goodson around 9:15 a.m. and arrived on scene in the fire engine.

Lieutenant Tom Morris of Central Polk County FPD said that temperatures were in the negatives that day, and they had a short supply of water. Because of this, Lamke was on his way back to the station to retrieve a water fire tender truck when the wreck occurred.

Mixed with the icy elements, Lamke had been traveling on a downhill stretch of Rt. C right before reaching Highway D in an area with a curve in the road.

As Morris says, Lamke had been driving only about 15 mph when he hit the patch of ice, but wasn’t able to gain back control of the vehicle. The fire engine, then, slid into the ditch and rolled over. The engine’s lights and sirens were not activated, since Lamke was only headed back to the station to swap vehicles.

Lamke, who the report said was wearing his seatbelt, was seriously injured. He was entrapped in the vehicle with his arm stuck under the steering wheel until crews could help him get out, Morris said.

Lamke was transported from the scene by ambulance to Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar.

“Currently, he met all of his physical therapy goals and is set to be able to go home in the next couple of days,” Morris says.

In addition to Central Polk County Fire Protection District, Morris named others who responded to the wreck, including Halfway Fire and Rescue, Bolivar City Fire Department, Prairie Grove Rural Fire Department, Polk County EMA, and Citizens Memorial Hospital. Polk County Dispatch also assisted during the incident.

The fire engine was totaled and was to be towed the following day, Saturday, Dec. 24, by Henry’s Towing, the crash report said.

The house was a total loss. While the structure was left standing, the inside of the house was gutted, Morris said. Among those who responded to the structure fire were Central Polk County FPD, Halfway Fire and Rescue, Prairie Grove Rural Fire Department, Louisburg Fire and Rescue, Urbana Rural Fire Department, Pittsburg Volunteer Fire Department, and Pleasant Hope Fire Protection District.

Trooper M. J. Owens investigated the wreck.

To anyone traveling during winter weather, Morris advises to be prepared.

“Stay off of roads unless you absolutely have to be out in it, and carry small non-perishable food rations, warm clothing, blankets, a flashlight, and a charger for your phone,” he says.

A benefit spaghetti dinner and dessert auction will be held on Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Polk County Fairgrounds.

Due to his injuries, Lamke will not be able to work until further notice, so the proceeds of the benefit will support Lamke and his family and help pay his medical expenses. Monetary donations prior to the benefit will also help purchase supplies for the dinner.

Doors to the event will open at 5 p.m., and the auction will begin at 7 p.m. The dinner will cost $10 per plate, and other donations are welcome.

For more information about the event, contact Lieutenant Morris at 417-689-6414 or Chief Derek Lankford of the Dunnegan Rural Fire Department at 417-770-2271.


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