Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com
A Pillar of Fire
I heard the fire before I saw it, an inexplicable roaring
hiss. I turned toward the sound and saw a pillar of fire along the road at the corner
of the field. Rushing to the scene I did not find the children of Israel
following the fire but I did find a roadside fire burning along the road from
where, presumably, someone tossed a cigarette.
I hit 9-1-1 and the neighbors rolled into their fields
with trailers, prepared to evacuate their tractors and hay equipment if
necessary.
The first-first responder was Kirbyville City Police
Officer Richard Goins, who scoped the scene quickly and got on the radio to
give the approaching fire department details about the extent of the fire. When I complimented him on his knowledge
about fires he modestly said that he knows only a little, but in fact he does.
Maybe two minutes behind him came several vehicles of the
Kirbyville Volunteer Fire Department crewed by some young men I didn’t know,
followed by Fire Chief Greg Ellis.
Putting out a fire is not simply a matter of spraying
water randomly from a hose; it requires organization and training and constant
attention to where everyone is and what is happening at numerous points along
the fire lines and in depth.
And, happily, because of the professionalism of the KVFD
and the KPD there is little more to tell. Several firemen dragged hoses into
the trees and weeds and along the ditches, and all was over within an hour.
It could have been much different. If I had not happened
to be outside changing the bulb in a porch light I would not have known of the
fire until it had spread into the fields and woods. Houses and tractors and hay
equipment could have been lost, and there would not have been a happy ending.
I did not get to meet all the firemen because even while
they were finishing up on this fire they received a call for another and had to
roll on a controlled burn that was not controlled. It was a busy day for them.
A reality is that there is no such thing as a controlled
burn because the physics of combustion – heat, oxygen, and fuel supply – don’t
pay much attention to our wishes. Winter and spring are even more dangerous for
wildfires because no matter how wet the ground it, the accumulation of dead
summer grasses and weeds and leaves are dry. Even if there is a rain, dead
vegetation does not absorb moisture and so within an hour or two after the rain
stops the fire danger returns.
When a pleasant day presents itself there is a temptation
to clean up the yard (good) and burn litter and debris (bad). The air might be
still when the fire is lit, but then a little breeze stirs up and carries
sparks far beyond the reach of the garden hose and sets new fires among even
short grass in spots too numerous to control with the shovel.
It's best to wait for a still, damp day for such work,
and a plan to live with that fire all day with a water hose, a shovel, and
another fire tender to help watch.
Thanks again to the Kirbyville Fire Department, the
Kirbyville Police Department, and all first responders for their
professionalism and their vigilance.
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