GARFIELD - The old wooden structure was smoking and blackened Monday afternoon when firefighters arrived; flames occasionally rose from beneath the edges of the the roof or inside the structure, visible from the windows. As firefighters from both the Northeast Benton County and Avoca volunteer fire departments unrolled the hoses and began pumping water onto the structure, NEBCO Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Henry evaluated how to attack the fire.
He told firefighters they would have to extinguish the fire in the attic. Two men brought a ladder and leaned it against the north edge of the building. As firefighters’ oxygen tanks beeped that the oxygen level was low, they rotated out to take a break, drink water and get a fresh tank.
Within about half an hour of being on the scene, Benton County Fire Marshal Marc Trollinger arrived. As he and Henry walked around the building, there was a rush and a crash as a “flash point” of heat and flame arose from the roof, the roof collapsed and smoke billowed more heavily into the air. Trollinger said that superheated gases build up in the attic and, when fed with oxygen, literally burst into flames.
The heat intensified until it was extremely uncomfortable more than 50 feet away.
Henry and Trollinger collaborated on the next move, both saying it was far too dangerous to send firefighters into the structure which had reportedly been vacant for some time.
“It’s a safety factor,” Trollinger said. “It’s definitely a defensive fire now.
The walls, the ceiling are falling in.”
Trollinger and Henry said the origin of the fire is suspicious because there was no electricity to the structure, which was located at 19091 Arkansas Highway 127, Garfield. Traffic along the two-lane road was impeded for more than an hour by the fire trucks parked along the road.
Firefighters were called back later in the day for a rekindle. The structure was destroyed.
News, Pages 1 on 06/19/2013