Alva Review-Courier -

You are at a very close and secluded campground in eastern Oklahoma near Tenkiller Lake on Memorial Day weekend. Campers, boats, recreation vehicles and lots of happy people are gathering for a fun and relaxing weekend. It’s Friday evening. Then suddenly you hear the word “Fire” and you realize the fire is in a camper next to you. No one is inside and there are flames shooting out the top. Your heart sinks … what now?

Instantly, here come two Alva firemen who are camping at the lake – Merrick Norton and Aaron Groves. They quickly run a water hose to the location; while one is spraying inside the camper, the other one is pulling off the propane tanks, unhooking the electric power, and trying to get more water to the scene. For more than 20 minutes before the fire department from the nearest town got there, these two firemen fought and contained the fire – keeping the RV from exploding and the nearby vehicles, boats and other RV campers from going up in flames, as well as keeping people back from the fire. Watching these two guys work this together – with very little equipment (a garden hose) – was amazing.

The camper was totaled, which could not be avoided – but the rest of the campgrounds, people and property were safe. In the moments after the fire, when I looked around, I realized how devastating this situation could have been had it not been for these two very professional and well-trained men.

Thank you Alva Fire Department for training these guys, and thank you Merrick and Aaron for all you did in what could have been a real catastrophe. You two are the best!