01/21/2011 – “C” Shift - Grass/Structure Fire

Incident # 11-00405 – A grass fire spread through a yard causing heavy damage to a storage building and damaging a mobile home. Firefighters were called to 5169 Cross Swamp Road at 14:17 Friday afternoon 21-January, for a fast moving grass fire. While enroute, Engine 15 was advised a structure was involved. Engine 15 arrived to find a rapid moving grass fire and a well involved 10x10 storage building. Fire had reached a singlewide mobile home and was burning around the structure. Engine 15 deployed a booster line to cut off the fire near the mobile home, while other crew members pulled an 1-3/4 hand line to extinguish the storage building. Engine 18 and Tender 15 arrived a short time later and used booster lines to assist in extinguishing the remaining grass fire. Approximately one acre was burned. Fire caused heavy damage to the storage building and moderate damage to the underpinning on the mobile home. Firefighters prevented extension into the mobile home itself. Prior to the arrival of fire units, a person at the scene cut several holes in the side of an above ground swimming pool in an attempt to allow water into the yard to stop the fire spread.

 The area between the pool and the mobile was flooded. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and other responding units were cancelled.

Engine 15, Engine 18, Tender 15, Medic 18 and Battalion 1 responded. Captain Matthew Owen Williams, Jr. served as Incident Commander.