Volunteer FDs face common connection problem

By Henry Rosoff at KXXV News, Waco Temple Killeen
Hooking up equipment is sometimes a struggle when multiple fire fighting departments converge on a large fire. A house fire Wednesday night in Chalk Bluff was exactly that type of fire. However, the four departments on the scene: Chalk Bluff, Lacy-Lakeview, Elm Mott and Gholson did not struggle. They quickly contained the fire and stopped it from spreading to nearby houses and wooded areas.

Jerry Hagins, a spokesman for the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office, said when there are problems they usually stem from a lack of resources.

“Volunteer fire departments are often not quite as well funded as more established departments, and they may not have the best equipment,” he said. “That can result in the connectors not lining up.”

Chalk Bluff Fire Chief Mike Meadors said his department and surrounding departments avoid this problem through communication and preparation.

“We do make do with what we have,” he said, adding that most of the departments North of Waco train together occasionally and carry the same hose connectors– for good reason. “We depend on the extra equipment and manpower from other departments.”

Wednesday night the four departments were working with a fire hydrant located more than a mile away. Communication and equipment that meshed was key, Meadors said.

Meadors said the biggest problem nearby departments face is a lack of volunteers.

“There’s just not a whole lot of people willing to make the commitment to get up at midnight and go help someone out, whether it’s a crash, or a heart attack, or a house burning down,” he said.

Meadors also points to grant money as an equalizer when it comes to equipment. He said almost all volunteer departments rely on that money to get by, and have to meet certain standards to attain that money. The standardization of volunteer departments will slowly correct many problems, Meadors said.