About 50 acres of grassland caught on fire and moved quickly across fields after gusts of 17-20 mph hit Central Texas ahead of a cold front.
“If the winds were from the south they would have crossed the road into the long grass and they would have been in real trouble,” onlooker Karen Tabler said. Surrounding pastures were extremely dry and overgrown.
Houses close to the fire on Shaw Road were spared as the winds forced the fire in the opposite direction. The adjoining field had fortunately been mowed.
The source of the fire is unknown, however, conditions were perfect for something as simple as a discarded cigarette to start a decent-size fire, Thomas Pechal, Temple Fire and Rescue public education/information officer said.
Initially the Bell County east side strike teams were sent to the Rogers fire.
The strike team consists of fire departments and volunteer fire departments from Holland, Little River, Stillhouse, Moffat, Rogers, Troy, Morgan’s Point Resort, Belton and Temple.
“The strike force is one unit per fire department that is used to fight a fire anywhere in the county,” Casey said.
Crews were on the scene to battle the fire, which took about an hour and a half to contain. Some crews remained on site to watch for hotspots.
Just as the Rogers fire was brought under control, another fire broke out behind the IntegriCo Composites building on Lucius McCelvey Drive in Temple’s industrial area.
“They were deployed on the Rogers fire and then when the Temple fire went down we shipped them all over to fight the fire in Temple,” Steve Casey, Bell County fire marshal said. “Most of the units were on their way home when we heard about the fire in Temple.”
Black smoke billowed from the site as the plastic railroad ties manufactured there caught fire, placing the building in danger.
“Our initial concern was the building,” Pechal said. “Our engine crews focused their attention on the building. The volunteer departments focused on the grass. Our main concern was the structure itself.”
The ties were stacked high. A quint engine was used to force water from a height down onto the fire, saving the building, Pechal said.
“I understand the fire did jump a short section of the loop. One of the volunteer fire departments put a quick stop on it to stop it from spreading,” he said. About 10 acres of land was blackened.
A track hoe was brought in to break the ties down. Once the railroad ties were broken down and the bundles were separated, firefighters were able to cover the burning parts with foam.
“What the foam will do is put a protective blanket over it, and that will cool it down and also exclude the air,” Pechal said. “Once you exclude the air or cool the ignition temperature down the ties should go out. As long as the foam blanket isn’t disturbed,” he said.
Scott & White EMS units were also at the scene in case of smoke inhalation. Calls had been received from all over Temple asking about the smoke in the air, Pechal said.
Oncor electric company crews were on site in case power needed to be cut to the building.
tcooper@temple-telegram.com
