Pumper goes wherever needed
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Newsboy photo/ Charles Kerr ANGELINA RIVER FIRE DEPARTMENT protects northwest Jasper County.The new tanker gives them another tool to control wildfires in areas without fire hydrants.

Northwest Jasper County is a little safer now, thanks to the arrival of a brand new GMC pumper truck at the Angelina River Fire Department (ARFD).

In rural areas where fire plugs don't exist, having a truck like this can mean the difference between a minor brush fire and major wild fire. ARFD Chief Jim McCallie said his new truck can pump 1,250 gallons per minute.

Volunteer firefighters were on hand recently to test the new unit and see just exactly what that capacity means in a hands-on situation. With the punch of a button, a panel along the side of the truck folds down to reveal a portable holding tank. It pops together like an erector set, looking like an aboveground kiddie pool.

Then, with a big thumbs up from firefighter Crystal Hensarling, they open the valve and all 3,000 gallons come wooshing out in less than three minutes.

The tanker can then leave the scene and go back for more water while firefighters douse the blaze. It will only take six to seven minutes to fill up the tanker and have it en route back to the fire.

"We can draft water from a pond, river or swimming pool," McCallie said. In rural Jasper, that may be closer and faster than going to a municipal water supply.

ARFD has been fighting fires since the company was established in 1984. They protect 120 square miles.

"Basically, we cover from the dam at Rayburn to the Angelina and Tyler County lines to Peachtree community," McCallie said. "But in reality, county lines don't mean anything where fire is concerned. We go where needed."

ARFD has 19 volunteers, but during the day only about three are regularly available. It's the same problem that every volunteer fire department nationwide faces - finding people willing to tackle tough, dirty and dangerous work for no pay.

Assistant chief Albert Hensarling tells people to think, "What would you do if volunteers didn't volunteer?"

When they do find a recruit who passes the screening, they can start any time by attending four consecutive Monday night meetings, which double as training sessions; then the current volunteers vote to admit the new recruit.

Every rookie will attend at least one fire school. These days, it's usually the one in Livingston or Texas A&M since the school in Beaumont has not re-opened after Hurricane Rita.

Albert Hensarling said he taught the cottage fire course for six years at Beaumont's training facility.

"It's a cinderblock house that can be burned repeatedly. We use hay to create a lot of smoke and hay makes a very irritable smoke. You will know if you have a leak in your air mask," Albert Hensarling said.

Beaumont also had the "hell hole," a loading dock fire simulator.

"It's the type fire you would encounter in an industrial fire, the kind that is so hot a fireman has to be wet down before approaching it. The steam comes off your bunker gear and finds its way into any crack," Albert Hensarling said. "I've been in some hot situations. You think you're covered but the steam gets everywhere. The ear lobe is a good indicator. You'll really feel it there."

It's the kind of lesson a rookie doesn't forget.

Albert Hensarling said even though there are many oil wells in the county, Jasper doesn't usually get big oil fires.

"If it goes, it's normally a storage tank that catches on fire, maybe caused by something like lightning," Albert Hensarling said. "The best thing is to let it burn itself out and just control the grass and brush around it and keep the fire from spreading to any structures."

The city of Jasper has a foam truck, the only effective means to put out an oil fire. All the fire departments render mutual aid, and respond quickly to each other's fires. For rural units, it provides hand-on experience.

Firefighters can move easily from one department's equipment to another's because all trucks use standardized, labeled controls. Hensarling said a firefighter from here could go to the east or west coast or vice versa and understand the systems and use the equipment effectively.

Last year ARFD answered 86 calls, mostly grass and woods fires, but 30 percent were structure fires. They also respond to other emergencies such as car wrecks. They recently purchased a "Jaws of Life," and all volunteers receive first-aid training so they can help until an ambulance arrives.

Albert Hensarling said the volunteer fire departments don't do commercial fire inspections like the city of Jasper is doing now because they don't have a fire marshal. But they do pre-planning sessions with convenience stores and with Tennessee Gas, who help supports ARFD with yearly donations.

McCallie and Albert Hensarling agree that donations are as vital to the department as volunteers. Volunteer firefighters actually have to pay dues, $1 per year. The department sends out letters requesting donations from residents to offset that expense.

"People have been good about supporting us," Albert Hensarling said. "Sometimes we get back $10, or even $400. We raised about $6,000 last time. Churches like Nedville Baptist and Dixie Baptist always send a check. Whatever we get, every penny helps."

The department also gets about $6,000 per year from taxes, but it takes $18,000 per year just for basic operating expenses.

Albert Hensarling says that's why you always see volunteer fire departments holding barbecues and garage sales and "begging" donations. If the proposed tax had passed in the last election, it would have cost the average Jasper County homeowner an extra $30 per year, $2.50 per month, but it would have doubled what ARFD receives to $12,000 from taxes.

McCallie said that is necessary because the price of equipment keeps going up. A set of bunker gear used to cost $600; now it's $1,200. The price of a pumper truck like the one ARFD just received has more than doubled in 10 years. (A grant from the Texas Forest Service paid $108,000 of the $230,000 pumper; the remainder came from a long list of grants and donations.)

Improving the quality and equipment of local volunteer fire departments can ultimately save homeowners money on their insurance rates, according to McCallie and Albert Hensarling. The new tanker should take the insurance rating from a 9/10, the highest rate, to an 8B, a lower rate, "but you'll probably have to contact your insurance agent to request it," both men said.