740th MS prevents fatal fire along Highway 83 Published Sept. 27, 2012 By 2nd Lt. Ayla A. Ozturk 740th Missile Squadron MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Tech. Sgt. Jonathan D. Dodd and Tech. Sgt. Nanthan K. Loughary, facility managers assigned to the 740th Missile Squadron, helped prevent a fire from spreading when they came to the rescue of a semitrailer and its driver when it lost control on Highway 83, Sept. 12. They were both driving towards the missile complex when they witnessed the accident. The semitrailer was driving the opposite direction when it lost control. "Seems the portable trailer the driver had been hauling blew off, and sparked when it hit the highway," said Dodd. When they saw the incident, the facility managers rushed to the scene to ensure the driver was safe. They called for help immediately. When they looked around and saw smoke and flames their first instinct was to take advantage of the fire extinguisher present in all Government Owned Vehicles. With flames spreading quickly, thick smoke and the wind gusting approximately 30 to 40 miles per hour, they acted fast to assist. "I was only thinking about putting the fire out," Loughary recalls. "With all the Red Flag warnings and Fire Weather Watch, it became just an instinct to react." Once the fire department arrived on site, the fire was already out, and they only needed to add water to ensure there was no further risk of the fire reigniting. Dodd mentioned that an emergency responder, stated to Dodd and Loughary, that if they had not been around or reacted as efficiently as they had, the fire department would not have been able to control the fire. The fire could have spread to a neighboring farmer's property. According to Dodd, it was approximately an 800 square feet fire and the flames reached about two feet tall. "You can still see the burn patch if you go over there," said Dodd.