By Staff Reports
Even with a burn ban in place, Patrick County has been facing an increased amount of fire emergencies.
Buddy Dollarhite, chief of the Stuart Volunteer Fire Department, said calls have increased since the beginning of November. The department has responded to 248 calls this year, including 24 in November. Compared to November 2020, when the department responded to 22 calls.
“It typically picks up quite a bit as you get in the colder season,” he said, adding that the county is experiencing an increase in brush fires due to both weather and human causes. The department has been called to help extinguish several structure fires and brush fires this year.
Given the current risks, he suggested that the most important thing people can do right now is to not burn anything.
“The county’s got a burn ban in place right now to help. This time of year, it’s normal to have one (ban) if you’ve not had a lot of rain,” he said.
Dollarhite added that a burn ban also is usually in effect in the springtime, between February and April.
In November, “we’ve had several brush fires, and sometimes they materialize and sometimes they don’t. We’ve had a few brush fires in town, outside of the town areas, structure fires,” and assisted other departments with calls, he said.
“One example was a brush fire we feel was caused by a person running a drop cord from one building to another, and it got the grass on fire because it overheated the drop cord,” he said.
Dollarhite said drop cords should never be used as permanently.
“We’ve ran into situations where people will use drop cords for refrigerators. That drop cord is going to develop heat over time, and just like anything else, when it develops heat it could cause a fire,” he said.
If heating homes with wood, Dollarhite said to make sure coals are cold or wet before disposal. He also advised keeping a fire extinguisher nearby, checking smoke detectors to ensure they are working properly, get chimneys cleaned, and keep real Christmas trees watered to prevent them from getting too dry.
Inside, “you always want to keep a 36-inch clearance around any heating source. So, if someone is heating with wood has a stove or a heater, try to keep a three-foot clearance from any other combustibles around,” he said.
When cooking, “make sure the pan handles on the stove tops are not on the edges and are kind of pointed away so nobody can accidently knock a pan handle and cause a fire there,” he said.
Dollarhite said weather induced power outages also increase the potential of carbon monoxide poisoning because generators may be used as a backup source of power.
“If the power goes out, make sure that if using a generator, it’s in a well-ventilated area outside the living areas so as not to build up carbon monoxide,” he said.
Dollarhite said those involved or near a fire should get to a safe area and call 911 even if they extinguish the fire.
“It’s always a good idea to call the fire department out to look over it and check and make sure it’s completely out,” he said. “We’ve encountered situations before, where we’ve ran out and someone’s put a fire out, and especially with the wind, it’ll” reignite.
