PRATT, W.Va. — Deputy Chief Rod Johnson of the Pratt Volunteer Fire Department said two firefighters who remain hospitalized from a Saturday evening fire truck crash that killed two other firefighters were about the same Tuesday.
Fire Chief Timmy Walker, 42, of Hansford, and Firefighter Billy Hypes, 56, of Gallagher, are both in the Intensive Care Unit at CAMC General in Charleston. Walker is in critical condition and Hypes in stable condition.
Meanwhile, funeral arrangements are expected to be finalized soon for Assistant Chief Mike Edwards, 46, and Lt. Tom Craigo, 40, both of Hansford, who were killed in the Paint Creek Road crash. O’Dell Funeral Home in Montgomery received both bodies Monday. The families were still working with the fire department on the arrangements Tuesday.
Pratt VFD members had a four-hour debriefing meeting Monday night, Kanawha County Commission County Manager Jennifer Herrald said.
“We had folks come in from Cabell County to hold that meeting with them and they gathered around to talk about what has happened and really just show their support for each other,” she said. “The firemen had a chance to talk through it.”
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said it’s important to keep the Pratt VFD as strong as possible in the months and years ahead.
“That department might be small but if you’re driving in that area, like on the Turnpike, and you have a bad wreck or a heart attack, they are it for you. So we have to take care of them like they’ve been taking care of us since 1921,” Carper said.
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said Tuesday her thoughts and prayers are with the Pratt community.
“When you consider they were in pursuit of trying to help other people who had been involved in a car accident—I think it’s shocking,” Capito said. “I know Pratt is grieving and we all grieve with them and we hope that the ones that are still in the hospital recover quickly.”