WASHINGTON CO. ROAD AND BRIDGE FACING QUESTIONS AFTER DENYING ASSISTANCE AT HOUSE FIRE

  

Some local volunteer firefighters are frustrated after being denied assistance by Washington County at a devastating house fire.

The house fire Wednesday on Hillside Lane in the Sandy Creek Estates required the help of six fire departments. According to firefighter Ronnie Perry, who was the incident commander at the scene, the fire burned down through the home’s attic, leading to the collapse of the roof which left some walls standing.  Perry said a backhoe was needed to mitigate safety hazards and clear the site of debris.

Perry said he and other senior fire officials on scene put in a request for the backhoe to the Washington County Road and Bridge Department, who denied the request, stating they did not have an operator available to use the equipment.

Firefighters then contacted the county’s Emergency Management Coordinator and informed him of the denial, before reaching out for assistance again. This time, it was mentioned that a volunteer firefighter—and county employee—who was “well-versed” in operating heavy equipment was on scene.  The request was once again denied.

The county Emergency Management Coordinator then contacted the City of Brenham’s Emergency Management Coordinator, who had a backhoe and operator sent out to the site. Perry said having the additional help shortened firefighters’ time at the scene “quite considerably”.

According to Perry, this is not an isolated incident.

 

A statement from County Commissioner Joy Fuchs defended the county’s decision to not send a backhoe Wednesday, saying both of the operators who had training in use of backhoes during a fire were “not at work” and were on vacation.  She said it would have taken more time to get them to the scene than it took for the City of Brenham workers who were on duty.

Fuchs added that County Engineer Ross McCall “did not feel it safe to have an untrained employee take the backhoe and not be able to use it properly”.

When asked directly why the county made its decision to not send assistance, McCall replied “no comment”.

However, according to Perry, firefighters have been granted assistance by the county in years past, through the county’s emergency management plan. In addition, firefighters have offered to undergo training to avoid situations like these in the future.

 

Perry said he does not want this to hurt the county’s relationship with its volunteer fire departments, as they work well together for the most part.

 

In her statement, Fuchs thanked the City of Brenham on behalf of the county for their assistance in Wednesday’s fire. She said the county is currently working to put a training program into effect, in order to have more personnel trained to assist in these “very tragic times”.

Full statement Thursday from County Commissioner Joy Fuchs:

In response to the questions being raised concerning the house fire in Sandy Creek Estates Wednesday, October 23, there was a request to Washington County Road and Bridge to bring out a backhoe and an operator to the scene. The reason that the request was denied was that both of the operators who had training in use of backhoes during a fire were not at work. Our engineer did not feel it safe to have an untrained employee take the backhoe and not be able to use it properly. The City of Brenham was then requested to bring out a backhoe and took one to the scene. This is how things work between local governments. When help is needed we work together to get the job done. There have been times when the City of Brenham have asked for Washington County's help with structure fires and we had the proper personnel to take the equipment and Washington County assisted the Fire Departments. This was a time when Washington County needed help and the City of Brenham stepped up to help. Washington County is currently working to put a training program into effect to have more personnel trained to assist in these very tragic times. Washington County would like to thank the City of Brenham for their assistance and will assist as needed in the future.