July 02, 2008 12:19 am
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Leslie Gibson
Herald-Banner Staff
The investigation closed Friday into the cause of a June 24 house fire, to which Royse City, Fate, Rockwall, McLendon-Chisholm and Union Valley Fire Volunteer Fire Departments responded.
The home was a total loss due to lack of water in the area, according to several fire officials involved.
The fire totaled a two-story house in the Alexander Ranch subdivision off of State Highway 276 in an unincorporated part of Rockwall County. No one was injured.
A rekindle of a contained fire that afternoon is being blamed for sparking the fire which engulfed the house that night, to which the Royse City Volunteer Fire Department responded at 9:45 p.m.
Events leading up to the loss began around 3:30 p.m. that day, when the Royse City VFD was dispatched to 207 Alexander Lane. Also, through automatic aid agreement, Fate VFD with chief Sean Fay, responded. It is believed that an electrical appliance plugged in, and laying on a bed, caused a fire which “smothered out” according to reports of the Royse City VFD.
“We pulled ceiling and walls and checked for fire spread,” Royse City fire chief Ricky Bell said.
Rockwall County Fire Marshal Wesley Roberts was also at the scene for that fire. The fire “ended up starving itself out,” said Roberts, because the bedroom windows and doors were closed.
“The rest of the second floor had heat and smoke damage. The fire department busted windows to let the heat and smoke out. They got the thermal imager out in the attic, walls and floors. That’s really about all you can do,” he said. Thermal imagers are widely used and successful, he said. “There wasn’t any reason to not trust it,” he said, citing that he, Fay, and the others at the scene decided not to “overhaul” the room. “We all agreed — no signs of any hot spots.” Overhaul would have meant breaking more windows and further damage in removing everything from the area.
The family left the home, taking their overnight clothes with them, and the power company turned off power to the home, Roberts said. The home’s doors and windows were left open to let remaining smoke out. It was this action which contributed to a rekindle, Roberts said. “The wind got up and allowed oxygen to get throughout the house. It caught fire again.”
With neighbors back inside, and the family gone, it took a passer-by on State Highway 276 to notice flames coming out of two upstairs back windows, Roberts said.
Royse City responded through Rockwall County Sheriff’s dispatch.
“It had already vented through the roof when we arrived,” Bell said. “We needed more assistance because of the size of the home, about 4,400 sq. ft., and the outside temperature.”
Contributing to the loss also was a lack of water. A special wrench needed to turn on the fire hydrant in front of the house, which according to the water supplier is actually a flush valve, was not on the scene until later during the fire fighting.
Even with that, the use of the valve is not designed to run water directly into a hose, according to the general manager of the water supplier to Alexander Ranch.
The valves are designed to flush a line when there is an odor problem or a break in the line, said Clay Hodges, general manager of Cash Special Utility District (SUD), the subdivision’s water supplier.
Water volume and pressure, when opened correctly, allows the filling of a tanker or truck, without dropping the flow throughout the system into a level which prompts special actions.
Distribution pressure must be maintained always at a minimum of 20 PSI, or boil water notices must go out, and other requirements be followed. “We design our system to run at a minimum of 35 PSI,” Hodges said. Cash SUD provides the water, water lines, and the flush valves in more than 700 miles of line in four counties, including Alexander Ranch subdivision. In none of them, with the exception of two or three here and there, are the valves kept turned on, according Hodges. That was the practice prior to his becoming general manager 10 years ago.
Roberts said both Royse City and McLendon-Chisholm have such wrenches, but did not upon arrival. Later, a wrench was procured, and the valve turned on.
Both the Royse City VFD chief, and the county fire marshall, cite lack of water as a significant contributor to the loss. Roberts said he had been told at the scene by Fay, that “If we would have had water, this fire would never have gotten as bad as it got.”
The fire was under control by about 12:15 a.m., with fire fighters remaining until 3 a.m. with hot spots, Bell said. The American Red Cross out of Terrell spoke with the family, Bell said.
Kim Harber, a friend of the family, and as Kims Kleaning, a chamber member in Royse City, is accepting phone calls from those who would like to help the family. Harber’s number is 972-977-7214.
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