Blow Torch, Cutting Torch Lead to Structure Fires in Giddings and Navasota
Navasota Examiner
• No injuries and only minor damages are reported after a fire this Monday afternoon at the Navasota Livestock Auction Barn. Navasota Fire Chief Jason Katkoski says local firefighters and police were called out around 2:30 p.m. to Navasota Livestock, located at 7846 Highway 90. According to Katkoski, a contractor was working on repairing snow damages to the building from last week’s storm when a cutting torch cut some insulation on the roof. The fire was quickly contained and ex tinguished.
The Banner-Press
• The popular Henneke Fish Hatchery & Farm near Hallettsville is to appear on Texas Country Reporter. The episode is set to air on Feb. 27 and 28 on network television across Texas. Kenneth Henneke, owner of the hatchery, and his family provide fishing and pond consultations for various customers. The company is widely known for stocking ponds around the area with a variety of fish species.
Giddings Times & News
• Giddings firemen were called to a structure fire in town on Feb. 15 at about 12:30 p.m. When they arrived at 495 S. Johnson the attic space of the 2,300 sq. ft. brick home was engulfed in flames and smoke. According to reports from the homeowner, Bobby Nicks, he had been thawing frozen pipes with a type of torch. After allowing the torch to cool he placed it inside his vehicle which was located in the garage. Apparently, the torch had not cooled enough as it ignited the carpet inside the vehicle which ended up in flames. Nicks attempted to back the vehicle out of the garage but was unsuccessful due to the thick smoke. The 13 Giddings firemen on the scene had ample water pressure to fight the fire, but they had to also fight the brutal sub-freezing temperatures.
• A woman who recently moved back to Giddings after living in Cleburne for a short time watched in tears as her double-wide mobile home caught fire on Feb. 17 shortly after 5 p.m. The woman, her teenage daughter, and four dogs were able to escape as the home filled with smoke on a private gravel road behind JP Services Inc. The fire started in the bedroom area but it is still not known what caused the fire.
The Brenham Banner-Press
•A Brenham woman was killed and a young child was taken to the hospital after a twovehicle accident on Feb. 20 west of Brenham. According to DPS Sergeant Erik Burse, a 2014 Toyota was traveling eastbound on Highway 290 shortly after 2:30 p.m. when a 2012 Volkswagen driving westbound failed to yield the right of way when turning onto Shady Acres Lane, resulting in a collision between the two vehicles. A passenger in the Volkswagen, 35-year-old Deissy Grimaldo of Brenham, was pronounced dead after being transported to St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan. A second passenger, a two-year-old girl, was taken in stable condition to Baylor Scott and White in Brenham. No injuries were reported to the driver of the Volkswagen.