The Tulsa World, March 23, 2009-

Hydro firefighters mourn chief but continue to battle elevator fire
 
By RON JACKSON NewsOK.com

HYDRO, OKLAHOMA--

Fire, heavy smoke and poor ventilation inside a grain elevator were too much for volunteer firefighters who lost their chief and suffered smoke inhalation injuries today in Hydro.

About 11:30 a.m. the call about a fire at Hydro Cooperative went out and Hydro volunteers were there first, said Mike Karlin, Weatherford assistant fire chief. Karlin took over as incident commander after the tragedy.

Hydro Fire Chief Nolan Schmidt died and four firefighters were injured, authorities said. Three of the injured were Hydro firefighters and one Weatherford firefighter was hurt.

Karlin said work was being done on the grain elevator that was half full of soybeans when the fire started.

Jim Murray, Hydro police chief, said there are about 10 Hydro volunteer firefighters but he did not know how many went to the scene.

One firefighter who suffered smoke inhalation was released and the other three went to hospitals in Weatherford and Oklahoma City.

Caddo County Sheriff Gene Cain said the fatality and injuries were likely from smoke inhalation.

Karlin said firefighters had to cut a hole in the side of the building to ventilate it.

"We're trying to finish the job our brothers started," said Karlin, visibly upset.

Luke Tallant, an agent for the state fire marshal's office, said investigators are interviewing eyewitnesses and trying to determine a cause.

Murray said, "We're a small community. I want the families to know that our hearts go out to them. These guys are not only firefighters they are our friends."

Schmidt was a mechanic whose father had also been a volunteer firefighter in Hydro, said Jeff Krehbiel, chairman of the state wheat commission.

"He was an outstanding young man who did a lot for the community," said Krehbiel, a Hydro resident.

Schmidt is from a Mennonite family that has been in Hydro a long time, Krehbiel said.

"He was a close friend. He was an outstanding man and his dad (Max) had been a volunteer firefighter here for many years," Krehbiel said.

Krehbiel said although grain elevators can be dangerous, he did not want to speculate as to what caused the fire.

"I don't know what the situation was as to what happened. I don't even want to speculate on what happened until I know," Krehbiel said.

"These volunteer firefighters in rural Oklahoma often put their lives on the line and we take it for granted sometimes," Krehbiel said.

Contributing: Oklahoman staff writers Michael Kimball and Robert Medley
By RON JACKSON NewsOK.com