Va. Station Didn't Answer Call, Home Damaged
Source The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.
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Oct. 31--Some time early yesterday morning, a house in Spotsylvania County's Fawn Lake subdivision caught fire.
A call for help came in to the county at 12:58 a.m. Eighteen minutes later, a fire truck from Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue station 5 arrived to find the roof and second floor engulfed in flames.
Other units arrived on the scene from Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue station 1 and Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue stations 6 and 10. A truck came from the Lake of the Woods fire station, and the fire was eventually extinguished.
The two residents of the house made it out safely, as did their pets. There were no injuries to any firefighters.
Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue officials did not have damage estimates as of last night.
But the fire might have caused less damage had there been any firefighters at the nearby Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue station 7.
"There was no response from station 7," said Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Monty Willaford.
If that sounds familiar, it is because a Fawn Lake house burned to the ground in 2003 after an identical 18-minute response time. Like yesterday, there was no response from station 7.
As a result of the 2003 fire, Fawn Lake resident Sheryl Bennett started the Spotsylvania Coalition for 24/7 Coverage. She said that the future of 24/7 coverage rests with the Board of Supervisors and how they choose to proceed with improving coverage.
"People should be aware of their own nearby stations," she said. "And thanks should be given to the people who are there. They need to be told they're appreciated."
Chancellor VFR Administrative Chief Kevin Dillard said there would have "absolutely" been a better response time to yesterday's fire if that station had been staffed.
But he also said that station is the hardest one to man with volunteers -- a fact recognized by the county when they agreed to start putting 24-hour career coverage there earlier this year.
But the paid staff work only from Monday mornings to Friday evenings, leaving the weekends without staff.
Yesterday's fire came at a time when county officials are trying to shift from separate career and volunteer staffs to a "combination" system that could, conceivably, fix some of the holes in the coverage schedule.
"Station 7 has had some significant staffing problems," Willaford said. He said that the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors will get a report on station 7 at their Nov. 10 meeting.
Dillard is fully aware of the problem, and the growing challenge of recruiting volunteers.
""We haven't given up on trying to staff out there," he said. But he also said that "it's going to take a while" for the county to get career staff there to man the station 24/7.
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: [email protected]
