$30k in equipment damaged, firefighters injured
Wed, 12/18/2024 - 1:01pm
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Details emerge on Dec. 8 barn fire
By:
Amanda Mendez, publisher
Willow Springs Fire Department personnel suffered second-degree burns after responding to a barn fire on County Road 3900 last Sunday night, Dec. 8. State Fire Investigator John Malcolm investigated, Interim Chief Alan Lewis said.
First responders and fire personnel responded at 6:00 p.m., arriving by 6:12 p.m. and Assistant Chief Sam Waldron and Captain Nick Tooley arrived on scene with a total of nine responders from WSFD. Captain Tooley initially assumed incident command as Waldron led a squad of three into the burning barn, said Lewis.
“They got in, maybe eight feet inside the door and reassessed. It was too hot to bring crew into building. Basically, when they turned to leave, almost instantaneously, some of the roof and other debris fell into the path of egress,” Lewis said.
He described the injures, “Kenny Warren was hit in the head with debris. Tasha Haddock had a minor second-degree burn on her arm, and a little burn on her cheek. Sam [Waldron] has second-degree burns on both wrists.”
According to scanner traffic, Eleven Point Rural Fire Department Chief Frank Vanhorn assumed incident command at 6:23 p.m., immediately after the injuries. Interim Chief Lewis arrived on the scene later.
“When you introduce oxygen into room, it pushes the superheated gases down to the floor and any water you spray converts to steam. The wrists, those areas are a little more vulnerable than areas covered turnout pants,” Lewis explained.
“The injuries were superficial injuries. No one wanted to go for treatment, and I ordered them to go,” Lewis said. Warren’s helmet prevented any injuries, and he did not seek any treatment.
The fire marshal’s report was “very encouraging,” Lewis said. “Any time we have an incident, I want an independent person coming in to assess things.”
Commenting that he wanted to avoid “armchair commanding,” the situation, Lewis said the crew made good judgment calls.
Inside the structure was a saddle of great sentimental value to the homeowner, and the firefighters were hoping to retrieve it. From the outside, and in the dark, Lewis said it would not have been obvious the structure was fully engulfed.
“The thing had already self-vented,” Lewis said. "Everyone was out. It’s a judgment call to salvage items. This saddle meant a lot to [the homeowner], and he talked to the on-scene guys. The went in and immediately came right back out. It’s a judgment call really.”
According to Lewis, the bigger impact of this call is the equipment damage. The department now has three SCBA pack out of service, which each cost upwards of ten thousand dollars. The department lost helmets and turnout coats.
“All things we just don’t have the money for,” Lewis said. He estimates the damage to be more than thirty thousand dollars’ worth.
The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental, he said. 48 hours before the fire, a fire maintaining fence lines appears to have travelled through an animal burrow underneath the barn, introducing flames inside the structure.
After the structured was declared a loss, on-scene personnel successfully prevented the spread of the fire to very close-by structures, even when the fire reignited the following morning.