Barrhead Fire Department called out to structure fire

It could have been much worse.

That is what Barrhead Fire Chief John Whittaker said about a structure fire in Barrhead County.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, shortly after 11 a.m., the Barrhead Fire Department was called out to a report of a structure fire about a mile east of the Town of Barrhead and half a mile south on the Manola Road.

However, when the call first came in, there was some question about the fire’s location.

Whittaker said when the owner of the property called in to report the fire, they gave dispatch the wrong address.

“It was mostly right. Instead of telling the dispatcher a five they said it was a two,” he said. “I know it is just one silly little number, but it makes a huge difference in location.”

Because of the confusion about the location the dispatcher called the homeowner again and received a more accurate location.

When the fire department arrived on scene they saw smoke coming out of the roof of a home.

It turns out the smoke was coming from a fire that started in a wall, most likely because of an electrical short, and then spread to the roof.

“I’m just so proud of our guys,” Whittaker said. “Despite the delay in getting the wrong address, we were able to expose the wall and the roof due to the diligent work of our members and extinguish the fire relatively quickly and no one was injured.”

He added that although there was extensive damage to the home and the residents will have to vacate the home, the damage can be repaired and expects the home will be habitable within a couple of months.

One of the reasons why there was a relatively good outcome to the fire, Whittaker said, was due to in large part to the number of members who were able to respond to the fire.

“We had 11 members come out so we were able to respond with four fire trucks,” he said, adding depending on the call and the time of day sometimes the department isn’t able to respond with those types of numbers. “That is why we are always recruiting, to make sure we have enough people to respond to calls no matter what someone’s work or vacation schedule is.”

Whittaker also wanted to use the opportunity to remind everyone how important it is to know the address of a property.

“It is especially important in the rural areas,” he said. “Not only for the fire department, but that’s the way EMS and the police find you as well. If anyone doesn’t know their address they should go read the address on the blue sign by their driveway and put it beside their phone. Even if they do know it, it is still a good idea because the person who has to call 911 may not know it.”