Wharton fire fighters defend against spread of fire

Using one of the newest weapons in their fire fighting arsenal, the Wharton Fire Department used a water cannon mounted on its newest pumper truck to help prevent a structure fire from spreading beyond the original location early Friday morning.

The department was toned out for the fire at 3:50 a.m. to 402 E. Wayside after it was called in by a neighbor. When firefighters got to the location, the report states that heavy fire was coming from each of the windows and the single story, wood frame structure was completely involved.

“When we arrived on the scene, the neighbors said the house was unoccupied,” Assistant Fire Chief Paul Shannon said. “And it was obvious no one could be alive in that environment so we went with a defensive approach. Our first assignment was to protect the exposures on the other houses. You could tell the neighboring houses were heating up so we hosed them down to cool them off until we could establish a water supply at a nearby hydrant.”

Once they had the water, the fire fighters started in on the burning structure.

“We used both hand lines and the deck gun,” Shannon said. “It’s on a motorized swivel operated by remote control. You can get a heavier flow of water than with the hand lines. And with the remote, the operator can actually take it into the field and get in a position to actually see if the water is falling where he intends it to.”

The report states the fire was declared under control at 4:11 a.m., out at 4:28 a.m. and that all units were back in service at 6:06 a.m. During the two hours fighting the fire, the report states the department poured 4,347 gallons of water on the flames and adjacent buildings.

A total of two command vehicles, two pumpers, a rescue and a utility truck made the scene along with a Wharton EMS ambulance. Shannon said there were no injuries among the 16 fire fighters who responded to the call.

“We finished with a complete search of the house and found no victims,” Shannon said. “Currently, we believe the fire is suspicious in nature based on how fast it developed and spread. It is currently under investigation by the Wharton Police Department.
By Barry Halvorson in The Wharton Journal Spectator