Lost hiker, crash and fires keep Monroe Fire District responders busy early July 4

Laura Lane, The Herald-Times
·1 min read

Fourth of July calls for help started early for Monroe Fire Protection District first responders, who responded to a crash, a lost hiker and two fires overnight.

Monroe Fire Protection District responded to a rollover crash involving a utility vehicle on July 4, 2022.
Monroe Fire Protection District responded to a rollover crash involving a utility vehicle on July 4, 2022.

Just before 1 a.m., they went to North Tunnel Road where a utility terrain vehicle had rolled, flipped and landed upside down. The driver was transported by an ambulance to the hospital for treatment of injuries, according to a fire department news release.

At 1:06 a.m., two more calls came in at the same. One was for a lost person on the Pate Hollow hiking trail in Paynetown State Recreation Area, and the second was a structure fire in the 2400 block of Schacht Road.

Monroe Fire Protection District first responders located a lost hiker on Pate Hollow trail in Paynetown State Recreation Area July 4, 2022.
Monroe Fire Protection District first responders located a lost hiker on Pate Hollow trail in Paynetown State Recreation Area July 4, 2022.

Rescuers went to Paynetown and trekked out on the trail in two directions to seek the lost hiker. Dispatchers stayed in phone contact with the hiker for about two hours until the person was located unharmed.

Firefighters extinguished a pole barn fire on Schacht Road July 4, 2022.
Firefighters extinguished a pole barn fire on Schacht Road July 4, 2022.

Firefighters were called to a pole barn that was fully engulfed in flames on Schacht Road. The homeowners said a piece of equipment inside the building had caught fire, and they were unable to put it out with a fire extinguisher.

Monroe Fire Protection District firefighters found a fully engulfed minivan at Woodland Springs Apartments on July 4, 2022.
Monroe Fire Protection District firefighters found a fully engulfed minivan at Woodland Springs Apartments on July 4, 2022.

At 4:30 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a vehicle fire at Woodland Springs Apartments. A minivan was fully engulfed by fire when they got there. The owner had noticed the fire, and got inside to drive the vehicle away from the parking lot, so it wouldn't spread to other vehicles and apartment buildings. No one was hurt.

Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Paynetown lost hiker, Schacht Road fire, Woodland Springs fire