SEELEY LAKE – Since Thanksgiving, the Seeley Lake Volunteer Fire Department has responded to four house fires. While one was a false alarm, the other three structures were saved despite subzero temperatures and limited access. One family safely evacuated their home because they were alerted by a smoke alarm.
On Nov. 25 at 11:46 a.m., four volunteer firefighters and Seeley Lake Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel responded to a chimney fire on Enchanted Forest Drive near Placid Lake. Vanden Heuvel said there was a "roaring fire up in the chimney. The creosote had caught fire and it was just about ready to burst through."
The volunteers were able to contain the fire to the chimney and extinguish it without further damage to the home.
"I feel that we saved that house from significant damage," said Vanden Heuvel. "That was five firefighters [all that were available to respond] doing the work of what should have been the work of 15 firefighters if it were a city department. It was strong work by the firefighters."
Twelve Seeley Lake volunteers responded to a mutual aid request from Greenough/Potomac Fire Department on Dec. 17 around 5 a.m. for a structure fire at Vannoy Lane in Greenough. It turned out to be a false alarm.
"It was 20 degrees below zero that morning and 12 firefighter and EMTs [Emergency Medical Technicians] including myself showed up to respond," said Vanden Heuvel. "Even though it was a false alarm, it was quite impressive for both fire departments to get that many people rolling when it was 20 degrees below zero."
Firefighters were paged to a structure fire on Grandview Drive on the Double Arrow at 12:50 a.m. Dec. 19. The fire was reported to be in the ceiling of a bathroom.
Incident Commander Seeley Lake Captain Cory Calnan was the first on scene. The smoke alarm woke the occupants who had already evacuated when Calnan arrived.
According to Calnan, the occupants went to sleep on the main floor. The second floor smoke alarms woke them up just before 1 a.m. They went upstairs and found it full of smoke.
Calnan found light smoke on the second floor. The ceiling fan had caught fire in the master bathroom on the second story.
Eight volunteers responded to the fire. Calnan said the fire had self-extinguished by the time they got there because of actions taken by the homeowners. The fire caused minimal damage. It burned up the fan's housing and a little bit of the vent pipe.
Calnan said the probability of the family being alerted to the situation without working smoke alarms was minimal. There was a closed door and staircase between them and the upstairs.
"It was more scary than anything," said Calnan. "It definitely could have been a lot worse had it gone undetected for much longer."
On Dec. 23, there was a structure fire at Big Sky Lake. The son stopped by the house and turned the heat on to warm it up for the rest of the family who was coming for Christmas. Vanden Heuvel said when he turned on the heat, he smelled smoke and called 9-1-1. He met the firefighters at the gate and took them to the home.
Vanden Heuvel responded with four other firefighters. Because the driveway was not plowed, they hiked in. They were able to determine the fire's location, which at that point was a partially involved room fire. Combustibles igniting next to a heat register caused the fire.
While Vanden Heuvel was waiting for the firefighters to return with fire extinguishers, half of the picture window blew out. Vanden Heuvel called for mutual aid and a second call for Seeley Lake firefighters.
"There was no way to get water to this house without massive amounts of help," said Vanden Heuvel because the driveway was not cleared and the lake was frozen eliminating the possibility of pumping out of the lake without cutting a hole in the ice.
After the window broke, the fire got oxygen and Vanden Heuvel said it really started to burn. The firefighters arrived with the fire extinguishers and they were able to put it out with wet water and dry chemical fire extinguishers.
"[The son's] actions were huge. Had he not called us when he smelled the smoke or had he not smelled the smoke and left, we would have lost that house," said Vanden Heuvel. "By doing proper attack with fire extinguishers and by doing proper ventilation at the same time, we were able to save the house."
Vanden Heuvel continued, "I think the [fire on Grandview] has the biggest message - smoke detectors work. Be very thoughtful about fire this time of year using all the extra types of heat devices that [people] are using," said Vanden Heuvel. "Our firefighters are out there working, in this cold weather, to keep our community safe. I'm really proud of the crew. In addition to saving lives, we've done a really good job of protecting property."
Reader Comments(0)