Copyright 2005 Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Copyright 2005 Daily Oklahoman
By TY MCMAHAN
Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma)
Ed Kirkham saw dark smoke spilling from his garage Tuesday and realized the house he lived in for 27 years was burning.
“I screamed for everyone to get downstairs and get out,” he said.
In minutes, a persistent north wind pushed the garage flames through his house, destroying it.
Kirkham’s home, near NW 220 and Horseshoe Road, is among many scattered across Edmond’s outskirts that don’t fall into the Edmond Fire Department’s jurisdiction. Response times are slower, even with the help of volunteer departments. Hydrants can be scarce.
“We’re just not close enough to the fire department,” Kirkham said. “If they were here in five minutes, then maybe they would have saved it.”
A lack of water and a strong wind made it difficult, fire officials said.
Water was hauled to Kirkham’s home in tanker trucks, dumped in collapsible pools and suctioned through hoses to douse the flames.
“Anytime you have to bring water in, it’s going to hamper our action,” Edmond Fire Chief Tim Wheeler said. “It costs us time.”
Wheeler said the fire moved faster than the firefighters could respond.
“Our response time was in under 10 minutes,” Wheeler said. “To actually go outside the city limits in less than 10 minutes is remarkable.”
Kirkham thinks something inside his new sport utility vehicle started the fire. The vehicle was nearly unrecognizable as it sat water-soaked with the rest of the blackened belongings in the garage.
Wheeler said the state fire marshal’s office will try to determine the cause of the blaze.
Live at your own risk Edmond and Oklahoma City are two metro area departments that have problems with outlying neighborhoods that lack fire hydrants.
Oklahoma City fire Maj. Brian Stanaland said departments do their best to fight fires in rural areas with the resources available. Oklahoma City owns six tanker trucks, each holding 2,500 gallons of water.
He said the best safety measure for homes without access to hydrants is to install automatic sprinkler systems tied into water wells.
He said communities also can build large above-ground water tanks or ponds with drafting hydrants.
Stanaland said communities interested in installing hydrants should contact a code enforcement officer at their local department.
Access to hydrants also helps determine the insurance premium on a home, said Denese Richardson of Shelter Insurance in Edmond. She said each area gets a rating number based on the number of fire departments that can respond, availability of water and other factors.
She said homeowners in rural areas outside Edmond have higher ratings and pay higher insurance premiums than homeowners who live in urban areas. Inside the Edmond city limits, the insurance rating is four.