| ||
| ||
Calendar
|
|
||
 Two Battershell fires in one week By JOSHUA DELAUGHDER Last Updated: July 30, 2010 Two structure fires caused thousands of dollars of damage in Battershell Court within a week of one another. No one was hurt when a post-frame metal building caught fire at around 2:30 p.m. Thursday or when a trailer home caught fire just after 5 p.m. on Monday. The two fires appeared accidental and unrelated but had Battershell residents shaking their heads at the bad luck. Neighbors told the News that passersby called a warning about the first fire on Albert Enoch's property, so the neighbors ran over to Al's. The building had been used as a workshop and for storage. It sat away from the owner's home nearer to the road. Enoch's family and neighbors tried to douse the fire that was consuming sawdust, lumber and other debris, with some success, as the fire licked up the southwest corner of the metal building. When one of them opened the tall garage doors on each end of the building with an automatic garage door opener, the Enochs and their neighbors the Dungans reported the flames seeming to erupt as the air rushed into the fire growing inside. Sumner County Sheriff's department was first on scene. Sumner County Fire 9 and Mulvane Fire and Rescue responded to the call and worked their way inside the building to subdue the flames. Valuable equipment such as four-wheelers, a scissor lift, tool boxes, tackle boxes, other machinery and supplies were in the building at the time. The fire burned inside the walls and rafters. Firefighters struggled to reach the flames with water. When the fire was subdued, firefighters began emptying the building of equipment and other items obstructing access to the fire. After a time it was safe enough to let the Enochs and Dungans help clean out the items. The long bands of styrofoam insulation lining the inside of the garage doors hung limp when the doors were open and lay in piles on a frothy wet floor. A van rear bumper was destroyed when parked next to the building. Belle Plaine Emergency Medical Services were on scene and helped the firemen stave off heat exhaustion. The second fire started in a mobile home around 5 p.m. on Monday. The owner Joe Frick said he was gone about five minutes before returning to a home billowing with smoke. Belle Plaine Police were first on scene with the Sheriff's department arriving a few minutes later. Belle Plaine sergeant Bill Berry checked to make sure the house wasn't connected to a propane or natural gas outlet. As the smoke quickly turned to flames, loud snapping and popping sounds were heard in the burning home, causing concern of emergency personnel who feared the noises were exploding ammunition. Electricity from power lines arced and crackled about the trailer home as firefighters subdued the fire and were able to look around the home. The causes of both fires were unknown at the time and both fires were extinguished within a couple of hours. SCENES FROM THE FIRST FIRE                      SCENES FROM THE SECOND FIRE            d |
Β | |
|
||