Two Texas firefighters were killed, and two other were seriously wounded, while trying to douse a heavy fire that that engulfed a Knights of Columbus lodge near College Station at about midnight, early Saturday morning. As of Sunday, the cause of the blaze is unknown.
Erin Wall and Greg Pickard, two fire department lieutenants in the central Texas city Bryan, died while trying to extinguish the blaze, reported The Los Angeles Times. Wallace, 36 was a 13-year veteran to the fire department, and was among the first rescuers who rushed to the lodge in search of occupants. Once the fire became so strong, he broadcast-ed over his radio. Pickard, a 32-year veteran, meanwhile died in the burn unit of a local hospital Saturday. Two other men, Ricky Mantey Jr. and Mitchel Moran, remained in serious but stable condition, according to foxnews.com.
"There are no words to express our grief at the loss," Fire Chief Randy McGregor said at a news conference on Saturday. "These four courageous individuals represent the best of the profession and are true heroes in every sense of the word."
"it had been 35 years last week since we lost our only other firefighter in the line of duty," city spokesman Mary Lynne Stratta added. "I personally, feel like I'm having a bad dream. But nobody has slept."
Bryan is 90 miles northwest of Houston. Strata said that Pickard died in Galveston, while Wallace died on the scene.
