It’s been a busy summer for Oklahoma firefighters. The drought has extended the fire season and helped fuel a series of summer firestorms that have torched 110,000 acres and destroyed 603 homes since late July. In Cleveland County alone, 141 homes were lost to fires that consumed more than 8,900 acres, state emergency management officials say. [...]
Oklahoma has more than 4,000 paid, professional firefighters at departments throughout the state, data from the state Firefighters Pension and Retirement System show. But its unpaid firefighting force is more than three times that size. “Volunteering right now is a full-time job,” says Maj. David Thompson, safety officer for the Slaughterville Fire Department. “And it’s [...]
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