Fire Fighting Resources Going Up in Smoke With High Fire Numbers
By: Josh Berry
Updated: June 23, 2012
Three barns were obliterated and nearly 40 acres were burned in a fire in Faulkner County Saturday (6/23).
One home off Highway 225 east of Greenbrier was threatened and temporarily evacuated but crews knocked the fire down before more damage could be done.
This is the second major fire seen in just a few days in Faulkner County.
The Greenbrier Fire Department responded to the fire Saturday in just a matter of minutes, but said they can't keep it up for much longer. They're apparently running out of resources.
Because of all this dry weather, firefighters have battled well over 130 fires in Faulkner County since the middle of May.
Saturday's fire destroyed 39 acres of hay pasture and a barn George Kilpatrick spent many summers playing on as a kid.
"It was a good barn," Kilpatrick said. "Had a lot of memories but it could have been worse."
Kilpatrick has taken over the property since his grandparents died. The fire would have destroyed their house had it not been for the quick work of the fire departments.
"My guys here in Greenbrier, we take pride in getting a great knockdown on fire just so it's contained to 39 acres," said Greenbrier Fire Chief, Cody Fulmer.
Fulmer also said it could have been worse. The number of fires just this month has stretched their resources thin and now these fires have them on-edge.
"At this point we are... we're sitting on go."
In addition to the six different departments that helped work this fire, the Arkansas Forestry Commission also showed up to the fireline to fight.
County Forester, Scott Youngblood, doesn't just cover Faulkner, he has 3 counties under his watch. The commission has battled funding cuts for months.
"As most people know, we're in a budget crunch and we're short on our firefighters," Youngblood said.
They can't stop fires from happening all together but said awareness can help cut down the numbers.
Youngblood explained the number of things that can cause a fire like this.
"I mean yeah a simple spark off of a rock from a bushhog, it could have been a lawn mower, it could have been a backfire," he said as a truck backfired near the crew.
The real cause of the fire was a piece of farm equipment cutting hay, sparking on a rock. The fire quickly spread.
While it's not illegal under a burn ban to cut hay, officials plead with people to take caution under such extreme conditions.
"The county of Faulkner county has been under a burn ban since the 22 of May so it's nothing new to us," said Chief Fulmer.
He claims not that many people take it seriously and it's draining resources fighting these fires. They'll continue to fight but need help.
It just so happens, Arkansas State Representative, Stephen Meeks, lives just minutes down the road from where this fire happened. He was there as crew fought to contain this fire.
He's already worked with colleagues to try and increase funding for fire departments.
"There seems to be general agreement between Republicans and Democrats and we need to do what we need to do to get these guys the resources in order to fight these fires," Rep. Meeks said.
State of Emergency even circled through some of their conversations Saturday, but they know that's not very likely. Either way, Rep. Meeks said he plans to do what he can to get these departments, including the Forestry Commission, more money.
One home off Highway 225 east of Greenbrier was threatened and temporarily evacuated but crews knocked the fire down before more damage could be done.
This is the second major fire seen in just a few days in Faulkner County.
The Greenbrier Fire Department responded to the fire Saturday in just a matter of minutes, but said they can't keep it up for much longer. They're apparently running out of resources.
Because of all this dry weather, firefighters have battled well over 130 fires in Faulkner County since the middle of May.
Saturday's fire destroyed 39 acres of hay pasture and a barn George Kilpatrick spent many summers playing on as a kid.
"It was a good barn," Kilpatrick said. "Had a lot of memories but it could have been worse."
Kilpatrick has taken over the property since his grandparents died. The fire would have destroyed their house had it not been for the quick work of the fire departments.
"My guys here in Greenbrier, we take pride in getting a great knockdown on fire just so it's contained to 39 acres," said Greenbrier Fire Chief, Cody Fulmer.
Fulmer also said it could have been worse. The number of fires just this month has stretched their resources thin and now these fires have them on-edge.
"At this point we are... we're sitting on go."
In addition to the six different departments that helped work this fire, the Arkansas Forestry Commission also showed up to the fireline to fight.
County Forester, Scott Youngblood, doesn't just cover Faulkner, he has 3 counties under his watch. The commission has battled funding cuts for months.
"As most people know, we're in a budget crunch and we're short on our firefighters," Youngblood said.
They can't stop fires from happening all together but said awareness can help cut down the numbers.
Youngblood explained the number of things that can cause a fire like this.
"I mean yeah a simple spark off of a rock from a bushhog, it could have been a lawn mower, it could have been a backfire," he said as a truck backfired near the crew.
The real cause of the fire was a piece of farm equipment cutting hay, sparking on a rock. The fire quickly spread.
While it's not illegal under a burn ban to cut hay, officials plead with people to take caution under such extreme conditions.
"The county of Faulkner county has been under a burn ban since the 22 of May so it's nothing new to us," said Chief Fulmer.
He claims not that many people take it seriously and it's draining resources fighting these fires. They'll continue to fight but need help.
It just so happens, Arkansas State Representative, Stephen Meeks, lives just minutes down the road from where this fire happened. He was there as crew fought to contain this fire.
He's already worked with colleagues to try and increase funding for fire departments.
"There seems to be general agreement between Republicans and Democrats and we need to do what we need to do to get these guys the resources in order to fight these fires," Rep. Meeks said.
State of Emergency even circled through some of their conversations Saturday, but they know that's not very likely. Either way, Rep. Meeks said he plans to do what he can to get these departments, including the Forestry Commission, more money.
