Fayette County is mourning the loss of two longtime Fayette County firefighters following a tragic accident this morning outside the Concord-Green Twp Fire Department in the Village of Staunton.
On Saturday morning at 11:05 a.m., the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Center received a call of an overturned mechanical lift with injuries. First responders arriving on scene identified the victims in the overturned lift as Concord-Green Fire Chief Ralph Stegbauer and Fire Captain Jeffery Skaggs. Both sustained fatal injuries in the accident and were pronounced dead at the scene by Fayette County Coroner Dr. Lenora Fitton.
The initial investigation has revealed that Chief Stegbauer and Captain Skaggs were utilizing the lift to make repairs to the radio tower outside the firehouse when the lift tipped over, ejecting both of them from the tower basket from several feet in the air. The FCSO is continuing their investigation of the accident with assistance from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction team.
The initial first responders to the scene were the fellow firefighters of Chief Stegbauer and Captain Skaggs from Concord-Green Fire Department. They were assisted at the scene by members of the Washington Fire Department, Fayette County EMS, and the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency.
The Concord-Green Fire Department was taken out of service until further notice. Calls for service in Concord & Green townships will be covered by the surrounding fire agencies in the county.
