A community in Oklahoma is lamenting the death of a local wrestling coach who carried his teenaged son through a wildfire to safety and sacrificed his life in the process.
Allen Ferguson, of the Oklahoma City suburb of Chandler, died “a hero, and his dedication to his family and our community will never be forgotten”, said a statement from local state representative Jim Shaw.
Family friend Shane Earp told ABC News that Ferguson carried his 15-year-old son, Will Conley, through a wildfire that raged in Chandler on Friday and brought him to a road where the pair were spotted by rescuers. Despite having been burned severely, Ferguson spoke to his son throughout the ensuing ambulance ride to keep him calm on the way to a hospital, Earp recounted.
Ferguson died on Saturday from his injuries, according to a GoFundMe campaign established for the benefit of his surviving family. Conley remained in critical condition at the time of Shaw’s statement on Monday, but a message on the page for the GoFundMe campaign – organized by Earp – said the teen was on the “long road to recovery”.
“I cannot fathom the thought of being in this family’s current environment,” Earp wrote on the GoFundMe page, which had raised about $60,000 as of Tuesday. Referring to Conley, Earp said: “Keep the prayers coming!! This dude is fighting!!”
Shaw’s statement described Ferguson as “a beloved youth wrestling coach”, and Earp described him as a “great man all around”.
“Whether it be fishing, metal detecting, sports, making art out of anything, civil war reenactment and many other things, if his family was interested in it, he would find a way to learn and make it happen,” Earp said to ABC about Ferguson, who had four sons. “Always had jokes and funny comments so you must be ready to laugh when around him.”
In the days before Ferguson’s death, at least 130 wildfires had erupted in Oklahoma amid extremely dry as well as windy conditions in the state. Officials said he was among four people who died because of the blazes or the winds.
More than 140 other people were injured. And more than 400 homes and other buildings were damaged as Oklahoma’s government declared a state of emergency. Oklahoma was one of several US states to have recently grappled with deaths or destruction from potent storms or wildfires.
Donald Trump on Sunday said that his administration would aid state and local officials in their efforts to help “their communities to try and recover from the damage”. But he conspicuously failed to mention the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which helps with disaster relief after severe weather.
Both the president and his billionaire businessman adviser Elon Musk, the head of the so-called “department of government efficiency”, have come under criticism for the administration’s decision to lay off numerous workers in various federal agencies, including Fema.
Shaw’s statement offered prayers and a promise of assistance to “all those who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones”.
“The resilience and generosity of our community has been evident in the way neighbors have come together to support one another in this time of crisis,” the statement added. “In the face of such devastation, our community’s strength and compassion continues to shine.”
