Coshocton Firefighter Injured in Woods Fire

A Coshocton firefighter had to be taken to the hospital by helicopter after sustaining an injury while fighting a woods fire.

The fire broke out Saturday just after 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of U.S. Route 36 and State Route 715. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Wilson with the Walhonding Valley District said when they arrived on the scene there was heavy smoke and the fire was traveling up the hill and the wind was not on their side.

"The wind kept picking up the fire and moving it. We were ahead of it and then it would jump us and get ahead of us," says Asst. Fire Chief Wilson.

The fire damaged around 10 to 15 acres of land. While fighting the fire, a tree fell on Coshocton firefighter, Max Lingo. Lingo was treated by fire and EMS crews, but had to be flown to Akron General Hospital where he is listed in serious condition in the Progressive Intensive Care Unit. Assistant Chief Wilson did not see it happen, but says he is upset to see a fellow firefighter hurt. He says the fire was one of the more difficult he has had to fight in a while.

"The terrain was really rough, a lot of hand fighting, couldn’t get vehicles to it," says Asst. Fire Chief Wilson.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Walhonding Valley Fire District, the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry.