A De Soto Rural firefighter was injured Sunday afternoon (March 8), when a tree limb struck him in the head while he was battling a brush fire northeast of De Soto, Chief Tom Fitzgerald reported.
He said the firefighter, Joey Arnold, was not seriously hurt, but was taken by Valle Ambulance at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City for treatment, mainly as a precautionary measure.
“We received a call at 4:24 p.m. for a brush fire in the 5300 block of Deer Ridge Lane,” Fitzgerald said. “The tree limb hit him. He got thumped in the noggin.
“He had to be checked because it was a head injury. He was taken to Mercy Hospital (Jefferson). They checked him out in the E.R., and he was cleared for work.”
Fitzgerald said the homeowner was burning brush and the fire spread on a day with low humidity and high wind.
“Just brush and woods burned on that property,” he said. “We were there two-and-a-half, three hours. We prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring property.”
No other injuries were reported, Fitzgerald said.
The Goldman and Hillsboro fire protection districts and the Valle Ambulance District helped with the call.