Ryegate's fire station burns down

Missoulian: Ryegate's fire station burns down

Ryegate's fire station burns down
Posted on June 23
By the Associated Press

RYEGATE - Residents of Ryegate have limited fire protection after a fire destroyed the fire hall, two trucks and the volunteer fire crew's equipment, Golden Valley Sheriff Floyd Fisher said Monday.

Fisher, who is also Ryegate's fire chief, estimated Friday evening's fire caused between $750,000 and $1 million in damage. The building is insured, he said.

"It was bad," Fisher said. "The firemen that did respond had to try and do stuff without any personal protection gear. Crews were able to get the pump started on a water tender that was sitting outside the fire hall and pumped water on an adjacent ambulance barn and propane tank.

"All the keys for that truck and the other trucks sitting outside were inside the fire hall that was burning," Fisher said. "There was no way to move any of those vehicles until we had some local people, volunteers that came, hooked chains to the vehicles and yanked them out of the way."

Fisher said the volunteer fire department lost a structure fire truck and a first response truck along with all its firefighting gear and equipment.

"I have borrowed a mini pumper so that we could respond to a structure fire," Fisher said. "However, I don't have enough hose to get to all the structures here in Ryegate because half the town does not have fire hydrants."

He noted a 600-foot fire hose burned in the blaze.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but Fisher said he does not suspect foul play.y."

Woman Killed in accident with Fire dept. Water Tender

Traffic accident: Woman Killed When Water Tender Runs Stop Sign

A female motorist in Arizona was killed when a fire department water tender went through a stop sign and struck her car.

The accident occurred when a loaded water tender was responding with its warning lights and sirens on. As the driver of the tender approached an intersection, he ran a stop sign and the apparatus struck an auto driven by a woman. The woman was extricated and taken to a hospital, but died shortly thereafter of her injuries. The firefighter driving the tender was injured slightly in the accident.

The tender was responding to a car fire.

Weekend brush fire extinguished with a little tender help

There's no question summer has officially begun here in the Mojave Desert, and for Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Service, that means more than long days of unrelenting heat.

It also means it's brush fire season, when dry weather combined with winds cause brittle desert brush to be ample fodder for dangerous fires that spread rapidly.

According to Fire Chief Scott Lewis, Pahrump firefighters were dispatched Sunday to a brush ire about a mile into the desert west of the intersection of Plantation Street and Thousandaire Boulevard.

Upon the first PVFRS engine's arrival it was established the fire was burning on Bureau of Land Management land and the BLM fire station was duly notified.

The Pahrump firefighters used two "brush trucks" (engines specifically designed to navigate desert terrain and fight brush fires) and a water tender to control the fire.

The BLM fire department soon arrived and firefighters from both departments successfully extinguished the fire and the BLM assumed command

"It was very rough terrain, but fortunately through our design process and our practice utilizing four-wheel vehicles, it wasn't too bad," Lewis said. "The crews did a really good job and worked with BLM."

Lewis said called the fire "pretty dramatic looking from the command post," saying the flames reached up to 10 feet.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Highs are expected to be in the 100-degree range now, so the likelihood of further such fires is up -- just like the temperatures.

Source: pahrumpvalleytimes.com

, on the scene douses fire - Milner Landfill

Steamboat Springs — A fire that broke out Monday night at the Milner Landfill is suspected to be caused by the improper disposal of combustible materials and was safely contained by landfill employees early Tuesday morning.

“It must’ve been a load of trash that came in as what we term ‘hot,’ possibly oily debris or construction waste,” Milner Landfill general manager David Epstein said.

Landfill employees were able to handle the blaze on their own, thanks to the presence of the landfill’s own heavy equipment and water tender. The fire was contained by about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Crews removed the ignited trash from the dump site where the fire began, then transferred the trash to another location where it was doused with water and buried, effectively putting the fire out, Epstein said.

Wildfire News Idaho: 35 acres - Big Little Ranches

On Monday, fire crews from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Twin Falls District Fire responded to a wildfire that ignited near the Big Little Ranches subdivision along U.S. Highway 93 north of Twin Falls.

The crews were able to keep the blaze to 35 acres, a BLM news release states. Responding to the blaze were three wildland fire engines, a helicopter with helitack crew and a water tender. Jerome Rural Fire Department also assisted with the fire suppression efforts.

Because there were no lightning strikes in the area, the incident has been determined to be human-caused. The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Fire crews suppressed the blaze once it reached the southbound edge of Highway 93. According to the BLM, the fire was declared contained at 2 p.m.

Firefighters fought the blaze with a water tender

TAMPA — A house in rural Odessa burned to the ground Tuesday evening as firefighters scrambled to find a source of water to help fight the blaze.

No one was home at 19502 Pine Valley Drive at the time of the fire, but two dogs and two cats perished in the blaze, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Capt. Bruce Delk.

Firefighters arrived at the house at 6:16 p.m. to find flames shooting through the roof and the house already largely engulfed in flames, Delk said. To make matters worse, the closest fire hydrant was nearly a half-mile away, he said.

The first fire crews fought the blaze with a water tender while other firefighters uncoiled more than 2,000 feet of hose to reach the hydrant. Eight units responded to the blaze, with 24 firefighters on scene.

A motor home and a detached garage were saved, though the house itself was a total loss, Delk said.

"The only things that were left standing were the outside walls," he said. "The inside was totally devastated."

The one-story house, a 2,120-square-foot, single-family home with three bedrooms, was built in 1987, according to county records. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Source: Link

That's the story and we are sticking to it...

"The engine overheated and stalled. It popped out of gear?, rolled backwards and without the engine running the power brakes were out?. Fortunately, our most experienced (standard shift) truck driver was at the wheel and he put it in the ditch to keep him and the two firefighters onboard from getting hurt,"

The department's 1983 wildlands truck was heavily damaged May 8 while trying to get to a brush fire on Shields Mountain. It will probably be declared a total loss by the insurance company.

CATON'S CHAPEL - The loss of its wildlands brush fire truck has crippled Caton's Chapel Volunteer Fire Department, and while a weekend fund raiser provided some relief, it was not nearly enough to re-equip the department for dealing with the most common type of fire it faces.
Fire Chief J.R. Romer said Saturday's car show and silent auction raised $2,100, and together with $5,000 already raised will put them on the path toward the purchase of a new wildlands truck expected to cost a minimum of $70,000.
Attendance for the fund raiser was a bit slow during the morning but Romer said the silent auction picked up in the afternoon.
"We had some real nice stuff; artwork, tires, cabin stays, beautiful things. I can't thank the merchants in Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge enough; they made the auction possible for us. In a time when the merchants themselves are having a tough time, they still keep on giving, and we are so grateful to them," he said.
Romer said the department's 1983 wildlands truck was heavily damaged May 8 while trying to get to a brush fire on Shields Mountain. It will probably be declared a total loss by the insurance company.
"The grade on that road is about 30 percent and that was the main reason for the accident. Going up that grade carrying 1,500 gallons of water you've got to be in low gear and the engine overheated and stalled. It popped out of gear?, rolled backwards and without the engine running the power brakes were out. Fortunately, our most experienced (standard shift) truck driver was at the wheel and he put it in the ditch to keep him and the two firefighters onboard from getting hurt," said Romer.
Lt. Jeremy Adkins said that without the truck, the 20-member department has had to resort to driving their personal vehicles loaded with hand lines and hand equipment like chain saws to fight the brush fires that must be accessed via steep roads.
"We have no water to use except 5-gallon backpacks," said Adkins. "The community is really backing us though. They've been very helpful and let us use their garden hoses. A lot of them know how critical it is without the brush truck, and we've already had homes threatened. ... We've had 50 brush fires so far this year and we expect to get at least 200 calls this year because we've already doubled our responses from this time last year."
Caton's Chapel also relies on other departments in Blount and Sevier counties to respond with their trucks, but, continued Adkins, "Without the truck, a 30-minute job becomes a two hour job, and a quarter-acre fire can turn into a 20-acre fire real quick. It's a big hurt for our department not to have a brush truck."

Source: By: CANDICE GRIMM Staff Writer mountain Press Article

Water-Tender Accident Injures Two Firefighters

Firefighters injured in water tender roll-over accident

(CFN) - Two firefighters in Wisconsin were injured when a fire department water tender rolled while negotiating a curve on its way to a fire.

According to reports, the water tender was traveling too fast when it entered a curve. The apparatus then rolled and hit a tree, injuring both occupants. One firefighter was able to crawl out of the damaged cab, but the driver had to be extricated.

The fire was in a shed.

Water truck rolls over on Highway 175

Lake County California - Water truck News - Water truck rolls over on Highway 175

COBB – An overturned water truck resulted in no injuries and a minor traffic slowdown on Monday morning.

The Epidendio water truck was reported overturned on Highway 175 heading westbound toward Cobb at about 8:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol and an eyewitness, Cobb resident Roger Kinney.

CHP Officer Adam Garcia said the truck had a flat tire. The driver pulled over, getting too close to the ditch, and the truck tipped over.

There was no injuries, said Garcia.

Kinney said as he passed through the area at around 10:15 a.m., traffic control was in effect, with about 10-minute delays, and the truck was being uprighted.

Original Link - Lake county News

Written by Elizabeth Larson E-mail