(Note: Photos from Amy Best-Rosentreter Facebook videos).
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CARLINVILLE - If there was ever a great example of neighbors helping neighbors and fire departments helping other fire departments it happened on Wednesday in rural Carlinville. Carlinville Fire Protection District Chief Jess McKee explained the details of what happened Wednesday: “The cornfield had been harvested and caught fire. We started to extinguish that and the wind changed direction and crossed Colbrook Road and went northeast and stopped at Dodge and Hettick Road.
"The second fire call came while we were working on this fire on Dodge Road. The info that came in was it was a fire in a standing cornfield and moving west toward Dodge Road. We called for mutual aid at that point. We had Virden, Palmyra, Hettick, Medora, Shipman, Dorchester, Gillespie, Benld, Mt. Olive and Greenfield all respond. We requested brush trucks and they showed up with them.”
McKee said he and other members of his department are so thankful to have such a great community around them and such solid neighboring fire departments and first responders.
“Thank you to all who donated and brought out food and drinks this afternoon," McKee said. "Thank you to the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office and dispatchers for your assistance. Thank you to our mutual aid departments who showed up and knocked it out of the park, like always. We cannot say enough about the farming community! Thank you all who stopped harvest and showed up with your tractors and tillage equipment (15-plus). Lastly, thank you to the members and families of the CFPD for all your effort, truly honored to be part of a special group that has the privilege to serve our community!”
McKee said outside fire departments also carried water with them to fight the fire. He said water was also taken from the fairgrounds south of the scene.
“We were looking for fire breaks, so the farmers got ahead of the fire right off Hettick Road and worked the tilled corn and beans, so there wouldn’t be any corn leaves to catch fire. When it hit the bare dirt, it stopped.”
Fire Chief McKee again reminded the neighboring farmers how much what they did was appreciated by all concerned: “If we'd not had those 15 farmers that stopped their harvest to bring tillage equipment to help us, we would probably still be fighting the fire on Thursday. They were the heroes of this day, helping a fellow farmer and fire departments."
"With everything else going on in the world, it is nice to see a small community of people who put others before themselves."
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
