On October 6th, 1968, a $60,000 dollar fire truck was engulfed in flames from a roaring oil field tank fire located just west of Notrees. Battalion Chief F. B. Corbell said the blaze on a Cities Service lease 4 miles west of Notrees and 14 miles South of  State Hwy 302 ( Kermit Hwy ) was apparently sparked by a lightning strike from an electrical storm at about midnight.

     When firefighters first arrived at the scene shortly after 4:30 p.m., after an industrial firefighting company had already  unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the flames. As firefighters poured chemical mixture of firefighting foam on the blaze, pressure built up within the tank. In a moments notice, a tide of flaming oil spilled from the top of the big tank and flowed across some 100 feet of ground engulfing the fire engine # 10 and destroyed it. Fortunately Battalion Chief F. B. Corbell and Captain Pop Hale and his crew along with several oil field workers were able to run ahead of the flaming oil to safety.