Firefighters from across
central North Carolina continued to assist the Fuquay-Varina Fire
Department over the weekend after a large barn and woods fire
started in southern Wake County on Thursday.
More than 50 departments
and over 300 firefighters participated in the extended operation
that had used 1.3 million gallons of water as of Sunday morning.
The incident was dispatched as a barn fire
in the 1800 block of Holland Road at 11:09 a.m. Thursday. Fuquay
firefighters arrived at Haymasters Farm to find two fully-involved
metal pavilions.
The football field-length structures were stacked to the top with
hay bales. A small workshop building was also burning.
Three engines were positioned around the
structures, each utilizing deck guns. The three engines also each
supplied four attack lines.
With no hydrants at the farm, water was
shuttled from approximately two miles away. Over two dozen tankers
transported water on Thursday.
The shuttle operations forced the closure
of roads to non-emergency traffic.
Fueled by strong winds and dry conditions,
the flames spread to the woods and soon threatened residential
structures in the 1600 block of Balkan Road in the Holland Downs
subdivision.
Additional crews and apparatus responded to
Balkan Road to protect exposures.
Residents were requested to leave their
homes about 3:00 p.m. No residential buildings were burned,
however, though one home suffered melted siding.
The Forest Service brought several pieces
of special equipment to the scene Thursday including a
tractor-pulled plow, a front-end loader, a spotter plane, and an
airborne tanker. Based in Hickory, the 1,400 gallon-capacity
tanker refilled in Harris Lake and performed six drops.
The front-end loader was utilized Thursday
evening to dig trenches around the remains of the barns.
Five acres were burned and the blaze was
finally controlled Thursday evening.
Firefighters remained on scene until about
3:00 a.m. Friday morning. Operations resumed at 10:00 a.m. Friday
and continued until approximately 5:30 p.m. Daytime operations
continued on both Saturday and Sunday.
Heavy equipment was used to separate the
metal pieces of the pavilion from the burning hay. By Sunday
morning, two tracked excavators were slowing pulling apart the
smoldering bales.
Fuquay Fire Chief Tony Mauldin utilized
their command post unit, a former ambulance, to direct an
Operations Officer, a Staging Officer, a Water Supply Officer, a
Manpower Pool Officer, a Safety Officer, and a Public Information
Officer.
Among the units called on Thursday to cover
Fuquay were Engine 10 and Ladder 3 from Cary. An engine company
from Cary returned Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to continue
coverage.
Approximately 30 tankers shuttled water on
Thursday from two water points. Some 20 or 25 tankers were in
operation Friday and Saturday from a single water point. On
Sunday, 10 to 12 tankers were in use.
About 120 firefighters participated
Thursday through early Friday morning. Between 80 and 100 were on
scene both Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. About 50
firefighters returned to the scene on Sunday.
Fire Explorers from Fuquay and Raleigh also
assisted each day, helping to pull hose, carry equipment, and
assist with manpower.
"The response from area firefighters has
been overwhelming," noted Chief Mauldin on Sunday. "We could not
have done it without them."
Command was terminated on Sunday at 15:49 hours.
The fire was caused by the property owner
burning debris.
