Multiple agencies respond to trailer fire in Superior

At approximately 5:15 on June 11, dispatch at the Mineral County Courthouse received a call for a structure fire east of Superior.

Superior Volunteer Fire Chief John Woodland had just finished doing some grocery shopping and was getting into his truck when the page was sounded. Chief Woodland immediately began driving towards the scene of the fire while coordinating efforts with dispatch.

“I knew the location and knowing the location I knew there was a fair potential (for a large fire),” Chief Woodland said. “The other thing is, we already had wind and I could see what was going on with the weather – I was very concerned the wind was going to get worse.”

Shortly after the page went out, members of the St. Regis Volunteer Fire Department responded and offered assistance. Chief Woodland said “yeah come on down” and they dispatched personnel to the scene.

Chief Woodland was the first on the scene of the fire, which he said is “advantageous” because it allows him to observe the situation and determine the best course of action as well as where to locate the responding units.

“I was able to scope around both sides of it to find a spot where it looked like we could reasonably put a crew in and stop it before it got to the next set of structures,” Woodland said. “I was able to direct that truck into the location, my crew responded very quickly and did a great job. We got a line into a position where we could hold the spread from going any further east.”

Although the cause of the fire is unknown, Chief Woodland said the fire began in grass close to where the trailer is located. Quickly an outbuilding near the trailer caught prior to moving to the trailer.

“It was very apparent to me when I got there that the trailer was not savable and there were multiple additional structures – some of them residences and some of them outbuildings – that were in danger,” Chief Woodland said. “Under those circumstances I made the decision rather than focus on the structure that was already lost to focus on stopping the fire before it could involve other structures.”

The prevention measures involved members of the SVFD using a high volume hose to knock the fire down – creating what is called a “wet line.”

“We had a pretty big volume of fire and some pretty dense vegetation where we caught it as well,” Chief Woodland said.

When members of the St. Regis Volunteer Fire Department arrived shortly after they immediately started fighting the fire in the trailer.

In what Chief Woodland called “standard practice,” the Superior Forest Service Fire Department was also paged. Chief Woodland said he also verified the page was made with dispatch.

“I believe they had some crews someplace in the vicinity and were able to get a pretty big crew,” Chief Woodland said. “Additionally, their fire management officer was just heading home when it came out. At the same time he was being notified of it, he was seeing it.”

Three hours later the last of the fire personnel was leaving the scene of the contained and quenched fire. Chief Woodland went back later in the evening as well as Wednesday morning to ensure the scene was still secure.

Chief Woodland said his crew “did great” both in their efforts and response time. Including members stationed at the firehouse 15 people responded.

“I was also very pleased with the assistance of St. Regis,” Chief Woodland said.

As for the fire itself, Chief Woodland said he “is not sure yet” whether or not a cause will be determined but that the fire raises an important safety issue.

“It’s really incredibly important that people keep flammable materials cleared out away from their structures – both in terms of vegetation and any personal possessions or things,” Chief Woodland said. “With that high wind the fire was into that structure fast and there was flammable material able to carry it.”