2000 Activity Report

Date

 Time

Type

Location

Cause/Comments
01-03 09:33 Meter Box Union Rd Electrical Short where line enters meter box.
01-08 12:30 Structure (Barn) Georgia Rd Burning trash near structure ignited the rear wall.  Fire extinguished with light damage to one interior room and rear of structure.
01-10 18:48 MVA Main & North Ann Car struck fire hydrant.
01-20 15:58 Structure Cove Rd Mutual aid call from  Red Hill FD.  Two structures involved, both were a total loss.
02-08 13:03 Grass Old Colley Rd Mutual aid call from Seman FD.
02-09 12:50 Grass Neman Rd Burning debris.  Assisted by employees of Friendship Water Authority.
02-09 14:30 Grass Mockingbird Lane Undetermined.
02-09 15:36 Grass Pleasant Hill Rd Undetermined.
02-11 00:23 Grass/Woods Mt. Zion Rd Undetermined but almost certainly intentionally set.  This sparsely populated area suffers several unexplained fires each year.  Many are grass and woods fires that start well after dark.
02-24 12:48 Grass/Woods Off US 229 Mutual aid call from Red Hill FD.
02-29 17:22 Grass Fleahop Rd Burning debris.
03-01 22:48 MVA Georgia Rd EFD provided cleanup and traffic control.
03-04 12:22 Grass Chana Creek Rd Sagebrush field, cause undetermined.
03-04 15:16 Grass Double Bridge Ferry Rd Burning debris.
03-08 15:55 Grass/Woods Oliver Rd Undetermined.
03-10 10:22 Structure Chana Creek Rd Mobile home with the rear bedroom fully involved on arrival.  Fire was contained in the room of origin and an adjoining bathroom.  Very heavy heat and smoke damage throughout the rest of the structure.  Cause unknown but resident stated that the lights in room of origin had been flickering off and on for some time.  No one was home at the time of the fire.  Assisted by Red Hill FD.
03-20 17:05 Structure East Cotton Rd Smoke in house.  No fire found, food cooking on stove was apparently the smoke's source.
03-20 20:25 Transformer First Avenue The dispatcher on duty heard a loud explosion and the dispatch center experienced a power surge.  Concurrently, police officers observed a large fireball rise in the sky one block north of the fire station.  EFD was dispatched to a suspected transformer fire.  On arrival, no fire was observed but several blackened insulators and fuses were located.  A brief search located the cause: one well done flying squirrel.
03-21 15:28 Grass/Woods Martin Dam Rd Mutual aid call from Red Hill FD.  5+ acre woods fire endangering several structures.
04-14 17:21 Car Georgia Rd Reported car fire at a gas station.  A civilian extinguished the fire with a dry chemical extinguisher prior to EFD arrival.
04-17 14:25 Grass Georgia Rd Burning rubbish
04-21 17:46 Woods Double Bridge Ferry Rd Burning brush from clear cutting of land.
05-04 18:43 False Alarm Old Salem Rd Neighbor reported a controlled burn as a wildfire.
05-10 15:36 Grass East Collins Reported as a structure fire.  EFD personnel found a small grass fire that was extinguished using a water extinguisher.
05-11 21:20 MVA Claud Fleahop Rd A large tree fell on a car travelling down Claud Fleahop Rd.
05-12 16:01 MVA with entrapment Georgia Rd Head on collision requiring extrication
05-12 19:00 Structure Hagan Rd Mutual aid call from Red Hill FD.  Cancelled en route.
05-16 15:08 Grass Main St Small grass fire
05-27 12:43 Grass Central Ave Small grass fire started by landowner burning brush
05-30 19:34 Woods Gold Mine Rd Mutual aid call from Red Hill FD.  Large woods fire burning involving 100+ acres.  Fire was turned over to the Alabama Forestry Commission. 
06-03 21:09 Woods Red Hill Rd Mutual aid call from Kowaliga and Red Hill FDs.  Fire contained and allowed to burn out.
06-06 13:40 Structure Sparks Ct Mobile home.  The fire was out on EFD arrival but moderate smoke and heat damage inside residence.  The resident was not home and the fire appeared to originate in the bathtub.  Quite obviously, the fire is under investigation.
06-06 14:00 Grass Chana Creek Rd Fire caused by landowner burning debris.  This call occured during salvage and overhaul operations from  the above structure fire.   The Red Hill FD provided mutual aid to assist the 3 EFD firefighters released from the salvage operation to respond to this fire.
06-07 07:59 Grass Georgia Rd Controlled burn reported as a wildfire by a passing motorist.
06-13 00:04 Grass Central Rd Small grass fire burning alongside roadway.
06-23 18:35 Woods Fleahop Rd Small woods fire possibly started by a power line problem.
06-23 18:41 Grass Chana Creek Rd Sagebrush field on fire. 
06-24 09:32 Car Tallassee Hwy Pickup truck well involved on EFD arrival. 
06-30 11:09 Car Georgia Rd Pickup truck.  Fire was caused by a chemical reaction between solvents being transported in the bed.  Fire self extinguished (fuel supply was exhaused) prior to EFD arrival .
06-30 12:50 Grass West Collins Burning debris.
07-01 11:18 Grass/Woods South Fleahop Burning debris.
07-04 15:10 Grass Claud Rd Fireworks.
07-04 19:39 Grass Central Rd Fireworks.
07-05 10:53 Grass/Woods Harden St Fireworks.
07-16 00:01 Structure Mt. Zion Rd A remote mobile home fully involved at time the fire was reported.  Chief Ingram on arrived on scene 4 minutes after EFD dispatched and discovered the structure had already collapsed. 
07-16 16:40 MVA Claud Rd EFD assisted with traffic control.
07-20 19:15 Storm Damage Entire community A severe thunderstorm caused damage throughout the Eclectic area, downing trees, powerlines, and blocking several roads with debris.
07-21 09:50 Car East Collins & Main St Total loss.
07-22 15:42 Structure Dunn-Adams Rd Mobile home with a large contents fire burning in the living room.  The fire was contained in the room of origin but the rest of the structure suffered heavy smoke and heat damage.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.
07-23 16:20 Structure Chana Creek Rd Mobile home with fire in one bedroom.  The fire was contained in the room of origin with smoke damage to the living room area of the residence.  On arrival, a neighbor was using a garden hose to spray water on the fire through a broken window.  This appeared to have been a factor in limiting the fire's growth.  The fire was started by an iron.
07-29 18:26 Woods Hunting Club Rd Burning trash.
07-31 18:02 MVA Dunn-Adams Rd Rollover MVA.
08-04 11:20 Structure Luke Pascal Rd Mobile home.  The fire was caused by an overloaded electrical circuit.  The structure suffered light smoke damage.
08-14 16:04 Structure/Grass Robinson Rd A landowner burning an old barn on his property lost control of the fire.
08-15 16:26 Grass/Woods Claud Rd Burning trash.
08-16 13:47 Grass/Woods Mt Hebron Rd Mutual aid call from Seman FD
08-16 14:56 Grass/Woods Kowaliga Rd See note 1
08-16 14:56 Grass/Woods East Collins RD See note 1
08-27 13:27 Tree in Road Central Ave High winds blew a large tree into the roadway.  The tree was removed.  While en-route back to the station, EFD was dispatched to a tree blocking Mullins Rd, which was also removed by EFD personnel.
08-27 15:00 Grass/Woods Central Rd Reported as a small grass fire.  On arrival, EFD discovered a pair of stumps being burned out by the landowner.  The fire was under control and was allowed to burn.
08-31 16:20 Grass Georgia Rd Small grass fire along the roadway.
10-12 11:28 Grass/Structure Claud Rd Dispatched to a reported grass fire.  On arrival, EFD discovered a small grass fire and a fully involved storage building that had already experienced a structural collapse.  The building and its contents were a total loss.
10-13 10:42 Grass Deer Hollow Tr Burning brush pile.  A fire line was established and the pile allowed to burn.
10-23 17:51 Structure West Skipper Rd A halogen floor lamp ignited a plastic decoration.  The fire self extinguished prior to EFD arrival.  EFD personnel used  positive pressure ventilation to remove smoke from the residence.
10-31 22:16 Structure Claud Rd On arrival, EFD personnel found sparks and smoke emitting from the rear of the stove.  The stove was unplugged and removed from the residence.
11-09 21:41 Tree in Road North Ann St A large dead tree.
11-12 11:51 Gas Leak Kowaliga Rd See note #2.
11-12 12:40 MVA Kowaliga Rd While returning from the above call, EFD personnel discovered a MVA involving a vehicle rollover.  They reported the incident via radio, gained scene control, and assessed the condition of the vehicle's occupants.  Fortunately, there were no injuries but EFD provided traffic control for nearly 2 hours.
11-19 08:38 MVA with entrapment Kowaliga Rd Vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
11-25 17:18 False Alarm Kowaliga Rd Controlled burn reported as a wildfire.
11-27 18:53 Structure Middle Rd Mobile home with fire in the kitchen area.  The fire was contained in the room of origin but there was significant heat and smoke damage throughout the structure.  A coffee pot and supply of filters was the point of origin.
11-29 16:52 MVA with injuries and fire Kowaliga Rd Vehicle struck a hydrant and briefly caught fire.  The fire was out on EFD arrival.
12-03 23:00 Dumpster Elmore County High School A dumpster located on school grounds.
12-17 08:48 Downed power line Harden St High winds blew a tree down.
12-17 10:42 Car South Fleahop Rd No fire, only oil smoke from an engine failure.
12-21 07:16 MVA Kowaliga Rd Ice on a bridge caused three different accidents, one with injuries.  The third accident involved an ambulance as it left the scene transporting a victim from the first.
12-25 14:38 Grass Bridgeman Rd Burning trash.
12-31 07:02 Structure Kowaliga Rd Frozen pipes caused a water heater to fail and ignite the 95 year old structure.  The fire was reported by a Kowaliga firefighter who drove past the residence and saw flames venting through the roof.  The structure was a total loss.  Freezing tempratures complicated fireground operations.  The Kowaliga and Red Hill fire departments provided greatly appreciated assistance.

 

Notes:

1)  Two nearly simultaneous power line failures ignited fires on Kowaliga Rd and East Collins Rd.  These same failures knocked out power to the entire downtown Eclectic area, including the police dispatch office.  The dispatch office's generator also failed to operate, leaving the dispatcher with no way to contact and dispatch EFD personnel or police department personnel.  The dispatcher on duty contacted Elmore county for assistance, and several FDs including Seman, Red Hill, and Kowaliga were dispatched to the fires by Elmore county's 911 dispatch center.  Several EFD personnel were contacted using a fire apparatus mounted radio and responded to the fires.   The generator eventually functioned and the remainder department was toned out at that time.  The help provided by the other departments was greatly appreciated.

2)  The homeowner was using a jury-rigged portable LP gas cylinder to fuel his home.  The cylinder had been significantly overfilled by a local service station and the cyinder being used was (according to a gas company representative) of an older, obsolete design that is not supposed to be filled by gas providers.  The 'leak' was actually the pop-off valve releasing product because the warm day had caused a pressure increase in the overfilled cylinder.  After determining the scene was relatively safe, Majure Gas was contacted for assistance and their representitive removed excess product from the cylinder.  Both EFD personnel and the gas company representative advised the homeowner of the potential danger posed to his family by his actions.  Further, the chief of the fire department protecting the business that filled the cylinder was briefed on the incident and will be addressing the issue of LP gas safety with the business owner.  The EFD would like to thank Majure Gas and its employee, Thomas Cauldwell, for their assistance in this incident.