A bronze plaque was attached to a memorial, on Friday, June 17, 2011 in Addington, Oklahoma, for two Sheppard Air Force Base firefighters who were killed in the line of duty in 1995.
Sheppard Air Force Base Fire Department firefighters Richard Hogan, 34, of Wichita Falls, and Airman 1st Class Christopher Rezac, 21, of Mesa, Ariz., were responding to an oil tank fire caused by a lightning strike near an oil refinery in Addington, Oklahoma. The fire was located in an oil storage tank and had been caused by a lighting strike. Firefighters Hogan and Rizac had responded in a P-19 crash truck to assist local fire departments with suppression efforts on June 11, 1995, when a wall of flames engulfed them, killing both men. Firefighters Hogan and Rizac were killed when several thousand gallons of burning oil boiled over the side of the tank, trapping their crash truck in a mixture of oil and mud. They attempted to flee on foot but were overrun by the flow of oil and died of massive burns. Hogan and Rezac were part of a six-man team from Sheppard AFB with a utility truck towing a foam trailer and a P-19 pumper dispatched to help area firefighters battle the blaze.
A brick memorial was constructed several years ago at the scene where the two men lost their lives. On Friday, fellow firefighters and friends gathered to rededicate the memorial to the two men and to add the bronze plaque, purchased with funds from the Hogan-Rezac memorial golf tournament held each year at the base.
"We do the job because we love it and we want to help people. But no matter how safe we try to make it, it's still dangerous," said Sheppard Fire Department Chief David Mounsey, who gave remarks during the ceremony. "We never leave a brother behind, and we never forget the ones who have come before us. Hogan and Rezac were responding to an oil tank fire, and both were heroes. They did what they were trained to do and they paid the ultimate price."
Sheppard AFB Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Orf was dispatched with Hogan and Rezac to help contain the blaze, which started when lightning struck a 2.2 million gallon oil storage tank near Addington on the morning of June 11, 1995.
"Firefighting changed forever that night," Orf said. "We now require a safety officer to be dispatched for every call, and we also make sure we have pre-fire plans for different types of facilities."
Hogan and Rezac were recognized by the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association for heroism and their names have also been included in the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md.
