AFTON, Okla. — It was shortly after 4:30 PM Tuesday on US-69 that runs through historic Afton, OK, in Ottawa County that firefighters responded to a fire.
By early morning hours Wednesday, an entire block of the towns oldest buildings, dating 100+ years, were a smoking shell.
One resident commenting, “All our historic buildings are gone!”
Afton is about 40 miles, as the crow flies, from Joplin. It’s population grew after neighboring towns of Picher and Cardin were gobbled up in the Tar Creek Superfund Site federal buyout of the early 2,000’s.
Cowskin Fire was among more than 20 agencies working to control a stubborn fire in a block long set of 100+ years old commercial buildings in Afton this afternoon and evening. Some 38 fire units were operated by over 75 personnel, mostly volunteers from four Oklahoma counties, and from Kansas and Missouri.
COWSKIN FIRE DEPARTMENT
