RANDOLPH CO. – The Indiana fire community mourns the loss of a Farmland Volunteer firefighter who died early Thursday from a tanker truck accident while en route to a barn fire in rural Randolph County.
Kyle T. Osgood, assistant chief of the Farmland Volunteer Fire Department, was pronounced dead at the scene at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday following the single-vehicle accident near Randolph County Road 1000 West and County Road 400 North. Osgood was driving the tanker truck northbound on 1000 West when the vehicle approached an S-curve and rolled over. The vehicle came to rest on top of Osgood, 29, and fellow firefighter Zachary Lee, 19. No other firefighters were aboard the truck.
Lee suffered serious injuries to his lower extremities and was flown to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne in critical condition. He was in surgery at midday Thursday and no updates were available.
Rescue crews reported Osgood and Lee were responding to a report of a barn fire just north of the accident location.
Osgood and his family have a rich tradition in the Farmland Volunteer Fire Department, with his grandfather previously serving as fire chief. A fellow firefighter said Osgood had been coming to the fire station since he was a child and rose through the ranks as he stayed committed to protecting his community.
Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones responded early Thursday to assist the firefighters and families. Farmland is about 15 miles east of Muncie. Indiana State Police are investigating the accident.
