|
900 W. Main St.,
PO Box 690 Grangeville, ID 83530
Phone: 208.983.1200 |
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
| Fire consumes home on Dewey Saddle Road |
|---|
| Structure sat outside protection of fire districts |
|---|
By ICFP editor - David Rauzi
Cause is unknown for a structure fire last week that consumed a home in the Golden Hills Subdivision.
Suppression efforts were concentrated on preventing the fire's spread-- at most a tenth of an acre -- into adjacent wildlands as the area was outside of any protection district coverage.
The home, owned by Dan Bryant, was insured. No injuries were reported in the incident reported approximately three miles up Dewey Saddle Road.
The fire was called in last Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 10:30 a.m., according to Dave Summers, fire warden for the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) Maggie Creek Fire Protection District in Kamiah. Two engines and five IDL personnel responded to the blaze, along with water trucks from Primeland and MacGregor, and later a tender from the Harpster Fire Protection District.
The Golden Hills Subdivision sits outside of protection districts covered by the Grangeville Rural and Harpster fire departments. IDL action was restricted to fighting the fire's spread
"We took no suppression action on the structure," Summers said, "but by the time we got there it wouldn't have made any difference."
It's not a lack of heart but rather the hard realities of equipment and training which keep IDL crews off structure fires.
According to Summers, they can suppress fires moving toward structures or hit small, relatively uninvolved surface fires on a building. But when confronted with a fully engulfed roof or when a blaze moves internally, crews are limited to stay outside and keep the fire from spreading.
"We're not packing enough water to put out a house fire," Summers said. As well, IDL crews do not have the specialized firefighting turnout gear or SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus), nor the training to fight structure fires.
At this fire, Primeland and MacGregor water trucks had to leave the scene to provide coverage as part of the agricultural burning season, so a HFPD tender was called in for coverage.
Golden Hills Subdivision is part of a large swath of area on the Camas Prairie headed toward Kamiah that is not under the coverage of any fire protection district, according to Summers. Property owners who are interested in coverage have two options, either requesting annexation by an adjacent fire protection district, or forming their own.
"Many remote communities have done that [second option]," Summers said, which take formation of a 501c3 nonprofit organization with an elected board of officers, and volunteers to staff positions and maintain training. Established districts can then receive equipment from IDL.
|
| Go to top. |
| Click here to Subscribe |
|
|