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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 |
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Flames destroy truck, threaten home and pets
Published November 19, 2008
SEGUIN — A passerby who saw a grass fire saved a pair of dogs from an agonizing death and a home from destruction early Tuesday afternoon.
New Berlin firefighters were dispatched to a home in the 700 block of Gin Spur off FM 775 at about 12:40 p.m. after neighbors heard an explosion — and looked out to see an old pickup truck erupt into flames.
A local resident who lives off Leissner School Road saw the blaze as he was driving by and rushed up the driveway to find a grass fire had engulfed the truck, was threatening a nearby fifth wheel horse trailer, a nearby dog pen and a shed.
Beyond that lay a doublewide mobile home and the rest of the neighborhood.
The Good Samaritan would not allow his name to be printed in the newspaper. He called authorities for help — telling them the fire had advanced to within 20 feet of the shed.
He took up a nearby garden hose and did what he could with the water pressure at hand.
“It started that trailer on fire,” the man said. “I got it out, but when that gas tank in the truck blew, I decided to start fighting it on the other side of the building.”
He kept the blaze off the nearby shed and away from two dogs who ran in frantic circles in their pen as he worked alternately with a hose and a rake.
New Berlin Fire Chief Kurt Strey, hearing about the threatened buildings, called for mutual aid as his crew moved up FM 775.
Firefighters from New Berlin, McQueeney, Seguin, Marion and St. Hedwig fought the blaze.
Strey said the fire caused by a trash fire left unattended, could have been disastrous.
“Thanks to those departments who assisted us in preventing numerous structures lost,” Strey said.
This fire and others like it that demonstrate how dry the earth is right now are alarming officials.
“We’re starting to see increased call volume of grass fires and these fires are growing at a rapid rate and are difficult to control,” Strey said. “I saw on this fire today a section of grass that was ‘put out’ several times by passing brush trucks only to pop back up again.”
He added that there’s also an increased need for adequate equipment in fighting these aggressive grass fires.
“I’m also starting to see a need for several brush trucks to ‘train’ a fire line or in other words, it’s taking several passes by numerous handlines to knock down and contain a fire line which equates for the need of more equipment called in to assist in stopping these fires,” he said.
A few weeks ago, the county banned outdoor burning, but attended rubbish fires are allowed in spite of the ban — in a container that is screened to prevent the escape of hot embers. Leaving a fire — even a trash fire — unattended is illegal, and a citation is possible in this instance, Strey said, once the owner of the property is contacted.
Strey said even if it rains at this point it wouldn’t do that much to reduce fire risk, as dry as the ground is and with as much dead vegetation as there is.
“As we go into this winter, I don’t see anything easing the urgency of grass and brush fires until spring time when we hopefully get some much needed, substantial rain,” Strey said. “I believe that right now, even though we need some rain anyway, that this won’t stop the fires due to dried vegetation in its dormant stage.”
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