LODD: Capt. Chad E. Wessels, 31, TX

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Wessels, Chad Ernest 

Age: 31 

Cause of Death: Vehicle Collision 

Rank: Captain 

Nature of Death: Unknown 

Classification: Volunteer 

Emergency Duty: Yes   

Incident Date: 12/11/2005 

Duty Type: Responding 

Incident Time: 01:30 

Activity Type: Driving/Operating Vehicle/Apparatus 

Death Date: 12/11/2005 

Fixed Prop. Use: Residential 

Fire Dept. Info: Briggs Volunteer Fire Department

PO Box 7

Briggs , Texas  78608-0007

Chief: Bill McQueen

 

Initial Summary:    Chad Ernest Wessels, 31, was driving a 1,200 gallon water tender as his department was responding to a structure fire.

At about 1330hrs Wessels lost control on Ranch-to-Market Road 963, causing the truck to leave the roadway, striking a fence and trees.

Wessels remained in the fire truck, which burned from a post-crash fire, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was not wearing a seat belt. There were no passengers.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the State Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the incident.   

Memorial Fund Info: The family has asked that no memorial fund be established. 

USFA

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Firefighter dies en route to blaze

Volunteer who loved Hill Country town is killed in tanker wreck

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By Asher Price

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Monday, December 12, 2005

An award-winning volunteer firefighter from the Hill Country community of Briggs died early Sunday as he responded to a reported fire.

Chad Wessels, 31, was traveling east on RM 963 when he lost control of the 1,200-gallon water tanker he was driving about 1:30 a.m., according to the Department of Public Safety.

The tanker, a 1986 GMC flatbed truck, went off the road, struck a fence and some trees, and caught fire. Wessels was pronounced dead at the scene, about 15 miles northeast of Burnet.

Wessels worked full time as a firefighter at Fort Hood and as a volunteer firefighter in Marble Falls, where his wife, Melinda, is a dispatcher for the Police Department.

But it was Briggs, a town where he had volunteered for a half-dozen years, even when he lived about 20 miles northwest in Lampasas, that friends and co-workers say he was most fond of.

The unincorporated town in the eastern corner of Burnet County is so small that "if you blinked, you'd miss it," resident Pat Cooper said.

"Everybody knew who Chad was," said Debbie Jordan, the secretary and treasurer of the Volunteer Fire Department. "He didn't know a stranger."

Residents of Briggs say he coordinated the town's haunted house on Halloween, participated in activities with the Girl Scout troop and helped out with the lighting of the Christmas tree.

He was most passionate about the 17-member department, friends and co-workers say. He found grants to pay for equipment, sought more money to build a new firehouse and frequently washed and tinkered with the department's trucks.

Last year he was voted Emergency Medical Services officer of the year by the Hill Country 100 Club, a group that helps survivors of firefighters, police officers and EMS officers wounded or killed in the line of duty, Jordan said.

Wessels is also survived by a 7-month-old daughter, Kaylee Ann; and a 10-year-old daughter, Airelle.

[Guest x2371]

Texas Firefighter Dies in Tanker Crash

Updated: 12-12-2005 04:01:58 PM

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SUSAN NICOL KYLE

Firehouse.Com News

Chad Wessels reached out with a smile, a hug and always, a helping hand.

That's how the 32-year-old volunteer firefighter is being remembered in his small central Texas community of Briggs.

Wessels was killed early Sunday as he drove a 1,200 gallon tanker to a house fire. The vehicle veered off the road, struck several trees and exploded into flames.

He was a career firefighter at Fort Hood Fire Department and you could find him working part-time at Marble Falls Fire Co. or volunteering at Briggs. His wife, Melinda, is a 911 dispatcher.

His death has left his friends numb.

"Anywhere that boy went, he was loved," said Briggs Asst. Chief Gerda McQueen, struggling to control his emotions. "Everyone knew Chad..."

McQueen said Wessels was the first person to pitch in, and not just at the fire station. "If there was an activity at the community center, especially involving kids, he was there...If something was broken and needed fixing, he did it."

Wessels was driving the water tender that he kept at his residence. "We didn't have enough room for all of our equipment. Chad offered to keep the truck..."

The assistant chief said it's been difficult to be at the station the past few days. "He did all our fire reports. Now, I wonder how we're going to get these things done."

McQueen said he was proud to call Wessels one of his best friends. "I miss him. It's a loss to hundreds if not thousands..."

When his co-workers at Fort Hood Fire Department learned of his death, they started notifying colleagues who were off-duty.

"We were thinking about the people we should call. I said we should just get the central Texas directory and start dialing...He was that well known," said Capt. Ernesto Cantu.

The captain said "Chaddie" put people at ease the minute they met. "My own daughter doesn't talk much to the firefighters here. But, the second she met Chaddie, they hit it off. They were talking like they'd known each other forever..."

Wessels built the water tender that crashed early Sunday. "He had a love for the fire service I've never seen before," Cantu said. "He lived it. Everything was about the fire service."

When he wasn't working at Fort Hood, you could find him working part-time at Marble Falls Fire Co. or volunteering at Briggs. His wife, Melinda, is a 911 dispatcher.

"If you gave him a task, he did it and more. He'd find other jobs and just do them. He was a beautiful man." Cantu said.

The fiery crash has left many unanswered questions. McQueen said, adding "Chad was one of our safest drivers. He was always preaching to others not drive any faster than necessary...It doesn't make sense."

Other departments have stepped, and are answering calls for the 17-member company as members deal with their first line-of-duty death.

Visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Briggs Community Center. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Grace Fellowship Church in Lampasas.