By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A two-story house ravaged by fire in Chehalis yesterday evening apparently started with a man cooking french fries in his kitchen.
Nobody was injured, but a dog and cat were unaccounted for at the home on the 500 block of Riverside Drive, Chehalis Firefighter Kevin Reynolds said.
It’s the second time in less than two months Reynolds and fellow firefighter Pat Gilligan have been the lone two members of the department on duty and responding as a crew of just two.
It was quite the fire for two people,” Reynolds said. “Once we had the manpower, we went upstairs with hoses.”
The Chehalis Fire Department was called around 5 p.m. and when they arrived, flames were coming out the kitchen door and window, as heavy smoke flowed out of the second floor, Reynolds said this morning.
An adult male got out safely; Reynolds wasn’t sure if anyone else was home at the time. The Red Cross responded to assist with finding a place to stay, he said.
Members of Riverside Fire Authority in Centralia and Lewis County Fire District 6 arrived to assist, and ultimately off-duty Chehalis firefighters with their ladder truck, according to Reynolds.
Their staffing usually consists of a team of three on duty, but nowadays if one is sick or on vacation, “you do what you can with what you’ve got” Reynolds said. He called it un-nerving.
He called the older, but sturdy home on Riverside Drive a total loss.
Reynolds, who has been with the department since 2001, the past nearly four years as paid member, said he doubts the house could have been saved even if a third firefighter was on duty, but a blaze the day after Thanksgiving is a different story.
“This one, for whatever reason, was going really hard and fast when we got there,” he said. “But on North Street, I know the outcome would have been different if we’ve had a third guy.”
On November 25, crews responded to Northeast North Street in between Market and Washington where a woman who pulled her pets out of her burning home suffered smoke inhalation.
Eventually some 25 to 30 firefighters joined them from three other departments but that home and its contents were also described as likely a total loss.
The changed staffing situation is a growing concern at the city department, according to Reynolds. It leaves him hoping the future holds a merger with surrounding departments.
“The thing to remember is s fire doubles in size every 60 seconds,” he said. “It’s everything we can do with two people just to stabilize a fire.”
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Read “News brief: Chehalis house burns” from Friday November 25, 2011, here
The union would rather lose a fire job than compromise on overtime. That leaves them short handed.
I work in a union shop, the union does NOT set the number of work schedule or number of people on duty, management does. Did Chehalis city management not want to call in someone for fear of paying overtime?
I feel that the Chehalis Fire Department should not use a tragic fire to make a political statement. The union is to blame for the staffing issue.
i agree
“Poverty Wages”???? Teachers do NOT get “Poverty Wages”… rather, they are well paid (there is an elementary school teacher in the area making around $100K a year… definitely NOT “Poverty Wages”).
But, the main thing here is that the people affected by this fire are OK, and I am very sorry they lost everything. No political statement need be entered here, just simple human compassion.
its just like the way we treat teachers: We make them get all this advanced training but pay them poverty wages and charge them more for health insurance than anyone else!
What a great opportunity to make a political statement.