Rexford Volunteer Fire Department Expands Role, Responds to McCarty Dairy Fire

by Derek White

When the alarm rang out around 10:30 a.m. last Thursday morning, members of the Rexford Volunteer Fire Department sprang into action to battle a fire at the McCarty Dairy. Within minutes, units from Rexford, Colby, and Menlo converged on the scene. Though the situation escalated quickly, quick thinking and inter-agency coordination helped prevent what could have been a far more destructive event.

The fire originated from a payloader being used inside the dairy’s feed building. “The back end of the loader was on fire,” explained the Rexford Fire Chief J.W. Knowles, who has served on the department for eight years, and has been chief for about two and a half. “He tried to drive it out of the building, but it just quit on him.” Thankfully, no injuries were reported, and no cattle were housed in the affected building.

Initial attempts by dairy workers to extinguish the flames with fire extinguishers failed, and as the plastic fuel tank on the equipment melted, diesel fuel spread the blaze to a pile of grass feed. Firefighters arrived and quickly got to work. With assistance from Sheridan County’s Menlo unit and multiple Colby fire trucks, crews had five hoses trained on the fire within minutes. “We probably had the main part of the fire knocked down within 20 to 30 minutes after the first truck arrived,” chief Knowles noted.

The response continued well into the evening. Firefighters opened garage doors to ventilate the building and carefully doused the smoldering remains of the feed pile as it was removed with heavy equipment. “We didn’t get back to the station until about 7:30 in the evening,” said the chief, who also serves full-time with Thomas County EMS.

The McCarty Dairy fire comes on the heels of other recent regional wildfires, including three in the same day across western Kansas. With increasing fire activity, the Rexford department has been ramping up its capabilities. Thanks to a $35,000 grant from the Patterson Foundation, the department recently acquired new rescue tools and have expanded into rescue services.

The all-volunteer department, which currently includes 12 members, continues to train regularly, hosting monthly drills and occasionally partnering with Colby’s fire department. Their most recent session involved extrication training using donated vehicles.

“We’re always looking for new volunteers,” chief Knowles said. “Stories like this can hopefully drum up some community interest. Every bit helps.”