| On Wednesday March 23rd at approx. 6:21 pm St. Stephens units were dispatched to a brush fire that was threatening a structure. Due to a structure being threatened, a structural response rolled along with our brush unit and an additional tanker. Arriving units found the fire to be located at the end of a long narrow dirt road with very limited access. A cattle crossing directly off of the paved highway made accessing the fire even worse. First arriving apparatus included a brush truck, pumper, and tanker. Other apparatus was staged on the highway due to limited access.
First due units were faced with extremely high winds and a rapidly moving fire that had already spread to an old wood framed building and a mobile home. Immediately a second alarm was transmitted along with additional tankers from Conover, Oxford, Hickory Fire, and additional manpower from Oxford. Engine companies from Hickory and Conover also moved to our stations for district cover up. All firefighting efforts were focused on the two structures that were involved and stopping the progression of the brush fire. The bulk of the fire was knocked down immediately with tank water and a CAFS system but the mobile home continued to burn. More water was needed to extinguish the fire but tanker shuttle operations were hampered due to poor road conditions and limited access. A drop tank operation was also attempted but was later abandoned because of the limited access. Multiple agencies remained on the scene for more than 2 hours extinguishing the fire and mopping up hot spots.
The St. Stephens Fire Department thanks all agencies that assisted with this incident. The cause of the fire was determined to be due to a downed power line. |
