CARROLLTON - The Carrollton Fire Protection District firefighters and neighbors - Jerseyville, Greenfield, White Hall, and Roodhouse - had their hands full on Tuesday with a multi-alarm blaze at Oasis bar and grill. The firefighters stayed with the fire from 11:30 p.m. Monday to the afternoon on Tuesday.
Carrollton, Jerseyville, Greenfield, and White Hall firefighters attacked the Oasis fire, while Roodhouse Fire Department manned Carrollton's station during the blaze.
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It took about five hours to get the terrible fire under control, Carrollton Fire Protection District Chief Tim Thaxton said. He added that it took an additional 3 hours to put out the hot spots from the fire.
Nearby, the Oasis Bar and Grill are motel units and those were protected by the valiant efforts of the firefighters.
Chief Thaxton said he is always proud of his firefighters and his neighbors in mutual-aid situations, but he was even more proud of their efforts in this destructive fire.
“We are all volunteer departments,” he said. “Every department on the scene was made up of volunteers and they do that around the clock year-round.”
The temps were cold Tuesday morning and it was slippery because leftover water kept freezing, Thaxton said, so it was not an easy task to extinguish the blaze.
David Evans, who was once the Evans Ford owner down the road from the Oasis before he retired, heard about the fire and came out to assist with traffic. He said Carrollton Police Officer Jerrett Smith was the officer on duty that night and he noticed the fire broke down the front door and smoke was so thick and he quickly contacted the fire department, Evans said. Smith is a former standout Carrollton/Quincy College athlete and has performed multiple heroic acts since he started his law enforcement career in his hometown.
Evans praised the Carrollton Fire Protection District firefighters and its neighbors and said they are as professional as any volunteer department in the state and maybe across the country.
He said the Carrollton Fire Protection District came about after a fire in the Carrollton Square area in the 1950s that left considerable damage. For many years, Donnie Reynolds was the Carrollton Fire Chief and he did an exceptional job setting the stage for the others who followed him, Evans said.
Evans also praised the firefighters for saving the nearby motel units. He remembered one time when he and others at his auto business caught a smell of wire smoldering and contacted the Carrollton Fire Protection District fire group.
“By the time I stepped outside to look for them they were there already, they were there that quick,” he said. “I am very proud of all the firefighters and the job they do for our community.
"I would put the Carrollton Fire Protection District volunteer firefighters above any other 3,000 population town in the state or country. We also have the same type of outstanding firefighters in neighboring communities. We are very fortunate here in Carrollton.”
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