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Baxter County’s Office of Emergency Management Director praised first responders throughout the county for coming together to support the Tracy Area Fire Department and their battle against the fire that damaged Tracy Ferry Marina over the course of the holiday weekend.
The level of support shown was high, with at least seven departments answering the call, along with the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas Game and Fish, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Firefighters from Tracy, Norfork, Mountain Home, Henderson, Gamaliel, Buford and Salesville were confirmed to have been at the fire on Sunday evening.
“All of those departments helped,” said David Stults, director of Baxter County OEM/911. “You should be extremely proud. I know there were 26 boats that were damaged or lost, but they did a tremendous job, and they got it out very quickly. We had the Sheriff’s Office out there, you know, we had boats on fire floating on the lake, and we had deputies out there pushing them. That’s not in their job description.”
Tracy area firefighters received a call about a fire at Tracy Ferry Marina at around 9 p.m. on Sunday evening and remained on the scene until about 12:30 p.m. after the fire was put out.
The fire, which started at the end of Dock 3, fully engulfed the dock, taking 26 boats that were moored with it. While the cause of the fire is still unknown, the Tracy Area Fire Department confirmed that it was not fireworks-related.
Firefighters worked quickly to connect the hoses needed to reach the lake but faced some difficulty while maneuvering around the many cars that were parked at the marina. They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other docks and stalls.
No injuries were reported on the scene, though one firefighter was taken to Baxter Regional Medical Center for smoke inhalation. That firefighter was treated and released.
Baxter County’s first responders have spent the past few years building relationships with one another during annual trainings and mock calls. Those relationships have been paying off, with first responders from across the county working together in unison to put out fires and save lives.
Several fire departments are scheduled to participate in this Saturday’s county-wide training event.
“We’re going to have all the fire departments come out. We had 13 last year. It’s pretty much going to exercise our tanker task force,” Stults said.
