Fires in Jesup and Madray Springs, Georgia, award for a firefighter, and Webbs Mills, NY area communication equipment for fire departments

Georgia Fire Chief Ashley Dent in Madray Springs, and Fire Chief Kevin Altman in Odum, let me know there was a fire in a strip shopping center in Jesup the other day. Thankfully, there were fire hydrants so they didn’t have to only rely on tanker trucks like at other fires, which many times are in rural areas. Chief Dent told me that the City of Jesup estimates that between 750,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of water was used to put out this fire.

Chiefs Dent and Altman told me that departments from their entire county, plus several neighboring counties were called in to help fight this fire. This means there were paid and volunteer fire departments on scene.  I asked if there were any injuries, Chief Dent told me that three firefighters were sent to the emergency room, one broke a leg, and at least 2 others were treated for heat related emergencies. In addition to being the chief for the Madray Springs VFD, Chief Dent is a firefighter for Hinesville’s fire department. Hinesville is in a neighboring county, about 25 miles from Madray Springs and Jesup, and they were also called to help fight the fire. He sent me these photos of the fire, including the one on the right which was taken 100′ in the air from the Hinesville tower truck.

I searched the Internet and found several stories and videos about this fire. I recognized the street names at this intersection, I remember driving past this shopping area when I was in Jesup in May. From reading several articles, it seems there were approximately 150 firefighters, and that 16 fire departments from 9 counties sent equipment and firefighters to combat this fire. It took over 12 hours to extinguish the fire, sometimes flames shot 40 feet into the air, and the fire glow was visible 10 miles away. At least 6 businesses were totally destroyed, as was a storefront church. A total of 10 businesses were affected by the fire. One of the stores totally damaged was a pet store, thankfully, no animals were hurt.

This is a small town of approximately 10,300 people, where people know each other and help each other. It will take quite a while for the area to be cleaned from the remains of the fire, and then for these stores to be rebuilt and opened. How will those affected earn a living and support themselves and their families while they are waiting to rebuild, if they can? It will have a large impact on the store owners and the community. When I was reading the articles written about this fire, I saw quotes from two fire chiefs and a lieutenant. These are men I met and talked with on my recent visit in May. Also, knowing that many of the firefighters and fire chiefs I met when I was there for my recent visit were at this fire seems to make it more personal for me. I want to make sure that “my firefighters” as I have been referring to them, are safe. I want them to go home safely to their families, I met many of their families at the dinner they had for me, and the cookouts we had at the fire stations. I could tell that the children and spouses of the firefighters are proud of them.

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house fireA few weeks ago, Chief Dent sent this photo of a house fire. There were no fire hydrants near this house, so they had to use tanker trucks. The nearest fire hydrant was about 6 miles away, so the trucks had to drive that far to fill the trucks and then come back to the scene of the fire. I can tell you from watching the structure fire I watched being fought in May that it takes a lot of water to put out a fire, and it comes out of the hoses rapidly. The fire in May took almost 20,000 gallons of water and it wasn’t even close to the size of the shopping center fire. Where there are no fire hydrants, tanker trucks are used to replenish the water tanks on the fire trucks. The tanks on the fire trucks and tanker trucks range from 1,000 gallons to 5,000 gallons. Hoses are connected between the various fire trucks so that there is a constant stream of water at the flames.

Imagine the heat from these fires. Then imagine putting on about 70 pounds of fire gear the firefighters are wearing, and going close to or into the fire to extinguish it. Factor in the air temperature being 80 or 90 degrees. Imagine if there were no fire departments. Jesup has a paid staffed fire department, however due to the size of this fire, in addition to other paid fire departments, several volunteer fire departments came to help them. Extra manpower is important, especially with fires of this size and intensity. I saw the difference it made at the fire I was at in May when I was in Madray Springs.

I really admire the firefighters dedication and effort to keep communities safe. All across the country these men and women have extraordinary courage, and they risk their lives to keep others safe, most of the time it’s people they don’t even know. They do it because they love what they do, it’s a profession they chose.

Many places around the country only have volunteer fire departments. Fire departments receive limited funding, especially volunteer departments. They do several fundraisers a year so they can buy their equipment and pay for fuel for the trucks and other necessities. I hope that people, especially government officials, realize how important it is for fire departments to have the proper equipment and gear so they can have it handy for when it’s needed. I know from talking with many fire departments that they help neighboring cities when it’s needed. I also know that minutes make a difference in saving lives and property. Having the proper equipment can make the difference to save a life, or contain a fire so that it doesn’t spread, or save the life of firefighters so they can go home to their families uninjured. Stop by your local fire stations and ask if there is something you can do to help them, or maybe help them purchase gear or equipment. Support them when they have fundraisers. Let your elected officials know you want them to be sure the fire departments have the equipment they need. It might one day be your house or life that needs their services.

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Chief Dent also sent me this photo of Gene Pritchett who retired recently with 31 years of service. He will remain a volunteer firefighter. I met Gene and his wife Patty in May when I was in Georgia visiting the fire departments.

 

 

 

The Webbs Mills volunteer fire department in New York state contacted me several months ago requesting my assistance with helping them purchase a repeater, antenna,  tower, and radio equipment so that they and several other rural volunteer fire departments can communicate with each other. They said if I purchase the tower and repeater that they would raise the funds for the radios. So we worked together for this joint project. I just received these photos of the equipment and antenna they purchased. They are thrilled that they can all communicate on the same channel now. I know it’s going to save them lots of time and most probably save lives and property now that they can communicate better. I feel blessed I can help them accomplish this goal.

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I just received an email from the Webbs Mill Volunteer Fire Department. Recently, they sent me a picture of the members of their department and also family members. Often, when we do something for others we don’t know the impact it has. I want to share the words in the email I received.

“Carol,

We need you to understand how much the members of the Webbs Mills Volunteer Fire Department and other area departments appreciate your help ending the communication problem we have had in our area for years. Generally speaking it will benefit seven departments on average, with others being able to use it as a backup system if their repeaters or the county system goes down. Once the new county radio system is up and running we may be able to move the antenna to their site at the highest area in Chemung County which is in our fire district and can be seen from our station.

As far as operations go, we were assigned three UHF frequencies by the FCC. This allows us a dedicated frequency for dispatch and two for operations. Even though the new county system will be digital, the analog system we have because of your generosity will afford area departments alternate frequencies to use for other operations such as traffic control, water supply, EMS, and for conversations that we won’t tie up the dispatch frequency with.

The fire commissioners are committed to purchasing more radios before the end of this fiscal year however, the membership has agreed to undertake a fund raising project so we can buy a portable radio for each of the contiguous fire districts to further improve the use of our new system at emergencies. We presently use the repeater and operations frequency at Reeses Ranch Rodeo for communications every third Saturday for the rodeo event we cover for EMS allowing members to become more familiar with it’s use before we encounter a major incident.

Thank you Carol for helping us end our communication problem and long into the future we will have a functional repeater that provide a safer environment on the fireground.”

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2 Responses to Fires in Jesup and Madray Springs, Georgia, award for a firefighter, and Webbs Mills, NY area communication equipment for fire departments

  1. Kevin Altman, Fire Chief, Odum, Georgia says:

    Carol, again you touch my heart. I don’t think there is a better person that I could have met in my lifetime to be able to help spread the word as to the needed support to a much needed service that I thoroughly enjoy participating in. I could only wish that there were more people out there that could see and understand what it takes for us to be able to do our jobs as firefighters, and what type of support we need. I know people often look at their fire departments as just another place that they have to support with their taxes, until the time comes that they need them.

    Along with your story, it was and is good to see the community of Wayne County come together to try and help these business owners deal with their tragic loss.

  2. maggie bossett says:

    Carol,
    We need to remember how much personal time and effort is selflessly dedicated to ensuring our communities have a line of defense against the ravages of fire. Thank you for reminding others and sharing your message. Your mission and generosity are inspiring.

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