Two Oklahoma firefighters were killed the morning of March 20 when a fire tanker crashed on the way to battle a blaze, officials said.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said it responded to a call at 3:17 a.m. and found the Goldsby Fire Department tanker had overturned and struck a tree. The firefighters had been responding to a structure fire, officials said.
The two Goldsby Fire Department volunteer firefighters were identified as Fire Chief Earl Bryan Jenkins, 64, and Todd Pendleton, 62, a longtime journalist with The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network.
"The loss of these individuals is devastating to our town and the entire firefighting community. We ask that you please keep their families and our first responders in your thoughts and prayers during this unimaginably difficult time," the town of Goldsby shared on Facebook.