Acting fire chief lauds Willow firefighters for saving 2 homes

WILLOW — Quick Willow Fire Department response to a pair of Friday afternoon fires resulted in saving one area home and limiting damage to another.

The first call came in about 2:30 p.m., for a report of a fire in a duplex at Mile 3.5 of the Willow Fishhook/Hatcher Pass Road, said Bill Gamble, West Lakes Fire Department chief and acting Willow Fire Department chief.

“The woodstove may have caused the fire, but they’re not 100 percent sure of that,” Gamble said. “It appears to have started in the attic area.”

The homeowner was at home at the time, Gamble said, and had gone outside to cut some wood. By the time he came back in, the ceiling had fallen in and “there was fire everywhere.”

Gamble credited Willow Fire Department volunteers for their quick response to preserve most of the structure.

“They saved 75 percent of the structure,” he said. “The crew for the Willow Fire Department did an outstanding job getting into the building while it was on fire and getting it knocked down.”

West Lakes, Houston and Caswell fire departments also responded in support of Willow, Gamble said.

No firefighters were reportedly injured in the response, Gamble said, but the homeowner suffered burns that aren’t considered to be too serious. That’s because he ran into the home to try and save items before firefighters got there, something Gamble recommends people don’t do.

“I believe he went back inside the house while it was on fire and ended up burning his arm,” he said. “You don’t go back into a burning building.”

Shortly after returning from the Hatcher Pass fire, Willow responders were called out again “about 7 or 8 p.m.” for a chimney fire, Gamble said. Because firefighters were still outfitted and at the station, they were able to respond quickly and take care of that chimney fire before it could spread to the rest of the house.

“They saved that house, and it took awhile to put it out in the chimney because of all the creosote,” Gamble said. “They kept the fire contained to the chimney and put it out before it spread to the structure.”

Friday’s response was a good example of strides the Willow Fire Department has made, he said.

“I just can’t emphasize enough how they’ve really worked hard in the last six months to turn that department around,” Gamble said.

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.