Flare Enough
Amidst Dry Conditions, Emergency Calls Are Keeping Local Volunteer Firefighters Busy
Trailer Loaded With Chemicals Catches Fire
Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department put out a trailer that caught fire on Interstate 10 Wednesday night, Aug. 19.
The fire started around 10 p.m. Schulenburg Fire Chief Jeff Proske said the fire started at the axles of the rear trailer of a tandem semi-rig near the 679 mile marker between Schulenburg and Weimar. Weimar and Columbus fire departments also responded to assist.
“The driver was able to pull the truck away and saved it,” he said. “Weimar (VFD) was able to get there quickly, and they helped to save the front trailer as well.”
The rear trailer was destroyed, however.
Proske said the two trailers were loaded with a variety of hazardous and non-hazardous material, including epoxies, acids, rolls of linoleum flooring and even a pallet of Sweet-n-low sugar substitute.
“We were concerned about some of the chemicals,” Proske said.
Firefighters shut down both sides of the Interstate during the cleanup, which lasted until around 1:30 a.m. No one was injured. – Andy Behlen
Five Acres Burn
Flatonia Fire and Rescue put out a stubborn five-acre fire last Saturday, Aug. 15, near the Fayette-Gonzalez County Line.
The fire started on property along Armstrong Derry Rd. Flatonia Fire Chief John Burleson said two youths ignited the blaze by burning a pile of trash.
“They didn’t know we’re in a burn ban,” Burleson said.
The fire spread to dry vegetation, destroyed an abandoned trailer house and other surrounding buildings, and eventually jumped the fence into neighboring property.
Burleson called for help from Muldoon Volunteer Fire Department and the Texas Forest Service. The three agencies fought the blaze for about four hours before bringing it under control.
Fayette County remains under a ban on outdoor burning.
– Andy Behlen
West Point Fire
The La Grange and Muldoon fire departments responded to a grass fire along Highway 71 in West Point Saturday Aug. 15. Firefighters were on the scene for about two hours.
The fire burned about three acres and, one structure was threatened but not burned. The fire started when a pickup traveling on the highway lost a wheel and in the process sparked the blaze in the very dry area along the highway before spreading into a brushy area.
– Jeff Wick