March 25, 1981

Flurry of fires frenzy firefighters

       A flurry of grass and field fires kept the county’s volunteer firefighters hopping yesterday, and continued dry conditions might keep them running through the weekend. County sheriff’s dispatchers’ called out firefighters to fires 11 times Tuesday from noon until about 5:30 p.m., all grass fires. The busiest department was Bargersville, which responded to five calls in its area and one call from White River firefighters for help with a grass fire in their area. “Yesterday we had two runs at once,” said Bargersville Assistant Chief Tom Umbarger. He said the department dispatched its grass fire vehicle to the first, near the Morgan-Johnson line, and a pumper to the second. “We’re fortunate having two pumpers,” he said, so one could stay at the station to handle any house or structure fire. Fires like those yesterday often begin from trash fires, according to Umbarger. “They’re just burning leaves or something, and it gets away from them,” he said. One problem is that people sometimes do not phone the fire department soon enough with those kinds of fires, Umbarger said. People don’t want to admit they might have let a fire catch them unaware. “They might be embarrassed,” he said. He stressed that while people certainly should be cautious when burning trash, they also should not hesitate to call if it does get out of hand. “We want people to call us; please don’t hesitate,” he said. A little grass fire can soon grow to a large and threatening fire, he said, and then it is a “real bear.” None of yesterday’s fires caused appreciable damage, according to fire reports, and no structures were reported damaged. Pat McDaniel, secretary of the Johnson County Firefighters Association and a White River Township volunteer firefighter, said White River had only one grass fire in its area on Tuesday and assisted in two others. But White River firefighter Robert Wehrman does not know if that will last. “It’s getting pretty dry out there… It’s awfully dry,” he said. “We ask residents to hold off on burning until after it rains.” Wehrman cautioned property owners to watch any fires they set. “People take it out then leave…Don’t watch it and there it goes,” he said. Wehrman cautioned that trash always should be burned in a container with a wire mesh covering.  McDaniel said that a number of fires her department has responded to recently have been roadside fires, and those probably are started from discarded cigarettes. “We haven’t actually tied any back to a cigarette,” she said, “but that’s about all it can be.” People are being careless and “aren’t thinking about how dry it really is,” she said. She said the threat of fire will ease only “when it rains,” and if Saturday is nice, it will probably be a busy day for her department. People who work during the week will be out in their yards raking and burning, she said, and that could add to the problem. Apart from Bargersville’s six runs and White River’s three, Needham responded to one call on a grass fire; Greenwood had two; Franklin had one and Amity fought one. All reported in the late morning or during the afternoon, when Tuesday’s light winds picked up a little. The National Weather Service reports there is a very low probability for rain through tomorrow and no more than a “chance” of rain during the weekend. Light winds of 10 to 15 miles an hour are predicted for this afternoon. A code 3 fire rating still remains in effect statewide today. The code scales fire danger from 1 to 5; 1 is low danger and 5 is extreme danger, while a 3 is classed high. If rain does not arrive by the weekend Indiana might move to code 4, or very high danger, according to state fire officials.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

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