03/22/2011 – “C” Shift – Woods/Structure Fire

Incident # 11-01664 – Medic 6 and Engine 7 responded to a woods fire in the 600 block of Proctor Street Tuesday afternoon 22-March at 15:14. Medic 6 was returning to quarters and was close to the scene when the incident was dispatched. They arrived about two minutes later to report a slow moving grass fire that had burned onto adjacent property and entered the woods. While performing an evaluation of the scene, they discovered smoke coming from a small doublewide trailer used as a fellowship hall for the Starlight Gospel Mission located at 608 Proctor Street. The building was located behind the church sanctuary near the rear of the property. The incident was upgraded to a structural response. Engine 7 arrived to deploy two handlines. Firefighters forced entry into the fellowship hall to find the building full of smoke. The fire had burned under the building, damaging the flooring and entering the walls on the “C” and “D” sides of the structure. Crewmembers removed the outer metal siding in several areas and the burned underpinning from the back and one side of the building.

Firefighters also crawled under the building to extinguish fire under the floor. A booster line was also used to extinguish the woods fire and several piles of leaves on the property next door. The Forestry Commission responded with one tractor. The building was saved, but suffered some fire and structural damage.

Engine 1, Engine 7, Engine 8, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 6, Tender 26, Medic 6, Medic 9, Car 12, Car 111 and Car 118 responded. Asst. Chief David Greene served as Incident Commander.