They came from church, from work, from supper with their families. One by one, they spilled out into the chill night air, silhouettes back-lit by the raging inferno as they put on their turnout gear and faced the fire.
Jonathan Stoll, a volunteer with Lowndes County Volunteer Fire Department District 5, was the first to arrive at 750 Old West Point Road Wednesday night. He got the call on his pager shortly after 7 p.m. and arrived within minutes, breaking the lock that secured the double gates and barreling down the gravel driveway toward what was by then a fully-involved structure fire.
There was not much he or backup volunteers from District 4 could do. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ equipment barn — and everything in it — was a lost cause.
Operations project manager Rick Saucer, wildlife biologist Tim Brooks and natural resources manager Ralph Antonelli stood with their hands shoved deep in their pockets, warding off the cold as they tried to assess the damage. This was their wildlife compound, where they kept the tools of their trade. The best they could figure, they lost an air boat, a wildlife patrol boat, a pontoon, two flat-bottomed skiffs, a four-wheeler and an all-terrain vehicle.
Saucer speculated the fire could have been caused by the boat batteries’ connections to trickle chargers. As the boats melted in the flames, neighbors heard a series of small explosions every time fuel met fire.
As Stoll paced the perimeter, hose in hand, Saucer stopped to warn him of the last bay door, behind which lay a dynamite box filled with “scare shells,” used to shoo away birds.
Saucer and his two colleagues praised Stoll’s quick thinking, saying they were grateful even though he could not contain the blaze in time to salvage anything but a pressure washer.
Stoll, 22, got his start with the fire department at age 18. It’s not unusual for him to be called away from home, he said. In between calls, he tries to get on with his life. It’s part of being a firefighter.
A small clutch of neighbors and gawkers thinned out as the flames subsided. Many had seen the thick plumes of black smoke from the Highway 82 overpass. Others got phone calls from people like Kay Watts, who lives across the street from the property.
Watts was in Caledonia when a friend called and said he thought her house was on fire. She was relieved to find out her friend was wrong, but she kept a wary eye on the blaze as she punched numbers on her cell phone and fielded calls from other concerned residents checking on their homes and loved ones.
Satisfied the threat had passed, she walked back up the driveway, across the road and into her house. In the distance, Stoll and his fellow volunteers continued to work small flare-ups.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
READER FAVORITES
Related Photos
A Lowndes County volunteer firefighter hoses down the Corps of Engineers’ equipment barn, which caught on fire Wednesday night on Old West Point Road. The structure was fully-engulfed when volunteers with Districts 4 and 5 arrived. Photo by: Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff
