LAST WEEK A PHOENIX TV STATION ran a sensational story about a “female impersonater” who had bought a fire engine and tried to run fire calls with it in the little Northern Arizona town of Seligman.  Firegeezer picked it up and posted it on Nov. 21 HERE.

“Donna”

What tipped them off was the sex-identity twist to the story and that is the direction the brief article took.  But it didn’t take long for us to find out that the full tale of Donna and his magic fire truck runs much deeper than that.  His irrational behavior has been going on for several years, causing a constant problem for the citizens and the Seligman Fire Department.

Firegeezer has begun an in-depth investigation into the record of this rogue fire department and its unusual members.  Not only have we found an amazing number of weird happenings, but also a persistent pattern of fraudulent behavior.  To tell the full story of this strange activity will take several days and perhaps weeks.

Starting today, we will be begin a regular series reporting on the surreal story of the Bridge Canyon Volunteer Fire Department.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

The front line of the BCVFD

Our story begins 10 years ago in Seligman, Arizona, when an ex-con arrived in town.  Frederick Renan Cross III was unknown by any of the 500 residents except for one.  And he was certainly unrecognizable because he was dressed in women’s clothing, had makeup on, and had plucked his eyebrows.

He went straight to an old 5th-wheel camping trailer that was permanently parked as a residence and occupied by Charles Clark.  This new mystery-woman began moving around town and telling everybody that her name was Donna Clark.  And for the next ten years, nobody knew that Donna was really a man.  Nor did they know that Donna had a string of aliases.

Even the Yavapai County sheriff isn’t sure how many aliases Frederick Cross has used, but we have learned of eight so far:

• Donna Clark

• Donna White

• Donna Dorathy (sic) Clark

• Donna R. Clark

• M. Mann

• Michelle Denise

• Donna Fredericks

• Meg Young, attorney

• Don Clark

Tomorrow we will continue with the next installment of our series that will be posted as The Daily Donna.  We will begin by saying a little about the historic western town of Seligman and tell you about its real fire department, the Seligman Fire Department, and cover the beginnings of the BCVFD.

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