Just after midnight 356 Volunteer Fire Department located near the Trinity/Polk County line was lost to a fire. Fire Chief Jessie Baker arrived on scene and was only able to sit at the street and watch as flames consumed the fire station, the tanker , two brush trucks and one rehab truck.
Other fire departments responded to the fire but it was to late to save the equipment.
This morning the volunteers are watching and wondering what they will do to protect this small community. The only insurance on the trucks was liability insurance. The station was uninsured. Unlike departments in Montgomery County funded by tax dollars , these departments are funded by donations. There are no paid staff. A lot of the equipment is obtained from other departments as hand me down equipment. Fuel being a major expense at this time pretty much depleted their already small budget when the Trinity County wildfire erupted just a few weeks back. 356 Fire Department spent over a week battling the fire with extensive fuel costs.
This morning Onalaska Fire Department made their brush truck available to the 356 Fire Department for as long as they needed. They will need new protective gear for the fire fighters, self contained breathing apparatus for entering burning buildings, fire hose, fire trucks and a new building.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS WILL BE POSTED LATER TODAY ALONG WITH VIDEO AND DONATION INFORMATION.
Comments are closed.