FAYETTE COUNTY, Ohio — In Fayette County, two long-serving firefighters lost their lives in a tragic accident Saturday outside the Concord-Green Township Fire Department in the Village of Staunton.
Chief Ralph Stegbauer and Fire Captain Jeffery Skaggs were identified as the victims when an overturned mechanical lift incident was reported to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Center at 11:05 a.m. Both succumbed to fatal injuries, according Fayette County Coroner Dr. Lenora Fitton at the scene.
The investigation indicates that Chief Stegbauer and Captain Skaggs were utilizing the lift for radio tower repairs when it tipped over, causing their ejection from the tower basket several feet above the ground, Sheriff Vernon P. Stanforth stated. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction team, is actively investigating the incident.
Concord-Green Fire Department’s fellow firefighters, along with personnel from Washington Fire Department, Fayette County EMS, and the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency, responded to the scene. Until further notice, Concord-Green Fire Department is out of service, and neighboring fire agencies in the county will handle service calls in Concord and Green townships, the Sheriff said.
“Our condolences go out to the Stegbauer and Skaggs families, as well as the dedicated men and women of the Concord-Green Fire Department,” Stanforth stated.
