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MC Firefighters face additional challenges as temperatures & fires increase

From the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office:

Firefighters are accustomed to harsh conditions, but high temperatures lately have added to the risk as firefighters responded to several structure fires this week.


Conroe, Tx June 29, 2012; Triple digit temperatures coupled with an increasing number of fires has Montgomery County Firefighters taking extra precautions to deal with the heat and a seasonal increase in fire activity. Although conditions are vastly improved from last year’s record drought and hot summer, firefighters have responded to an average of 2 to 3 grass fires per day, with most remaining fairly small.
While wildfire numbers are dramatically lower this year, a number of residential and building fires this week have led to increased activation of the County Automatic Aid System. The Montgomery County Fire Chief’s Association oversees the Automatic Aid System, designed to insure the quickest response to emergencies regardless of geographical boundaries.
Automatic aid systems dispatch the closest available fire apparatus to the scene of a major emergency, while moving units from other areas to cover vacated stations and back up the firefighters on scene. During large fires or when additional manpower is needed, Firefighters from across the county respond through a series of planned “move-ups” and then respond to the scene to relieve firefighters exhausted due to the recent high temperatures and humidity.
This week has seen Montgomery County Firefighters responding to nearly a dozen structure fires, battling both the heat from fires and the rising summer temperatures. Monday morning, just after 5AM, The Woodlands Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 200 Block of Cochrans Green. The fire started in the home’s garage when hot coals from a Sunday BBQ ignited in a trash can, spreading to the home. Conroe and Magnolia Firefighters responded to assist at the scene while Needham and Timberlakes firefighters responded to cover other areas of The Woodlands. Just after noon on Monday, North Montgomery County Firefighters responded as automatic aid to assist the New Waverly Fire Department with a house fire in Walker County.
Early Tuesday morning, Lake Conroe and Montgomery Firefighters responded to a condominium fire in April Sound, where fire was reported to be in the wall of a home. North Montgomery County firefighters moved up to cover the Lake Conroe area as crews worked for approximately 2 hours to find and extinguish fire in the rear wall. That afternoon, New Waverly firefighters returned the favor from the previous day as they responded to assist North Montgomery County with a house fire in the 10100 block of Shepard Hill Rd near the Montgomery / Walker County line.
Thursday proved to be the busiest day for Montgomery County’s Automatic Aid System, beginning when South Montgomery County crews responded to Harris County just after midnight to a reported house fire in Spring, while at the same time the Houston Fire Department responded to assist Porter with a reported apartment fire in southeast Montgomery County. At 3:20 AM firefighters from Splendora, New Caney and Porter responded to an arson fire in a vacant home on Yates Rd in Patton Village, while Cut N Shoot Firefighters covered their area. Later that same morning, the Woodlands Fire Department responded to assist Spring with a house fire in northern Harris County.
Thursday afternoon brought high temperatures and more fires as Cut N Shoot, North Montgomery County and Caney Creek responded to a kitchen fire in a home on Forest Court in Cut N Shoot. At the same time, Magnolia firefighters were called to a fully involved house fire on Magnolia Hills Drive in Southwest Montgomery County. The Montgomery Fire Department sent crews to assist and the Klein Fire Department sent their specialized “Rehab” truck equipped to support firefighters working in the extreme conditions. The home on Magnolia Hills was a total loss, and remains under investigation by the MCFMO at this time.
No major injuries have been reported, a credit to the cooperative effort of all County Fire Departments as they share the burden of working under these extreme conditions.
MCFMO investigators have ruled at least two fires this week as arson, including the vacant home in Patton Village and a storage building set on fire Wednesday morning in Porter. The Patton Village Police Department will be the lead agency in the Thursday morning fire on Yates. Two teens have been detained in connection with the break in and arson of the storage building in Porter.
In between investigating the numerous fires on Thursday, MCFMO Investigators also arrested a 32 year old Montgomery man in connection with a string of recent fires in west Montgomery County. Beginning in January, Montgomery firefighters were called to a series of fires in the same residence on Seale Rd. During the course of the investigation into these fires, MCFMO Arson Investigators determined that the home had been set on fire on at least two occasions by a neighbor, Adrian Taylor, as the result of an ongoing dispute. The investigation report was submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for review and a warrant for Taylor’s arrest was issued this week. Deputy Fire Marshals located Taylor in Conroe Thursday afternoon, arresting him on two charges of 1st Degree Arson of a Habitation. He was booked that afternoon into the Montgomery County Jail where he remains at the time of this report.

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