Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY, Utah. August 22, 2020. At about 9 p.m. Saturday night, at least three loud explosions were heard, felt and seen from the Sweetwater Trailer Park hill and the fired glowed in the night sky. Several people who were at the park were evacuated and power was turned off in the area.
The Garden City Fire District responded quickly as did other departments from the county. Eventually eight engines and 30 firefighters from the Garden City Fire District, Laketown Fire District and Bear Lake County Fire Department responded to the blaze.
The fire started at 3199 Nina Loop. One witness said that it was believed to be a barbeque grill that caused the initial fire but that has not been confirmed by the fire department. The witness said that the grill exploded and then fire quickly spread to the first trailer which had several small five gallon propane tanks stored and boxes of ammunition which also exploded. As the fire spread, a residential propane tank nearby exploded.
The first home was consumed quickly and the fire spread to the neighboring trailers destroying two more and damaging a fourth. A Garden City firefighter was within 50 feet of the biggest explosion but is fine.
Jason Wade Matthews, Garden City Firefighter explained it this way, "So tonight was crazy. Myself and one other firefighter jumped in the engine, we set out behind our ladder truck but none of us (5 firefighters) knew just what we were heading to. Upon arrival I stopped at the hydrant closest to the fire and dropped my rider off. He did exactly as trained, grabbed the line off the hose bed of the truck and started tapping the hydrant as I drove the engine up the hill to get uphill and upwind of the fire.
Immediately upon passing the fire the first explosion happened. Then the second larger explosion. I felt both explosions in my chest. I thought for sure my fellow firefighter was killed. There are no words to describe the feeling I had. I thought I had just lost a brother. Finally I got a charged line to feed the engine and the shock of what just happened faded.
Several other smaller explosions kept happening. I hear on the radio that we now have a bleve with a 500 gallon propane tank and it scared the hell out of me. Then suddenly I see the crew pick up and put out. I had firefighters running out the cross lays and attacking the fire even though things were blowing up all around us. I didn’t know the status of the firefighter who rode with me and I was afraid to ask. When I found out he was just fine I honestly had a tear in my eye.
I won’t embellish or sugar coat this, tonight all hell broke lose and we proved that our training works. This became a three agency fire and we could not have done this without Bear Lake County and Laketown's help. I saw things tonight that no FF1 or FF2 book will ever prepare you for. Brave men, brothers, who knew life was at risk put out and saved a neighborhood as well as themselves. And none of us got hurt."
Because the vacation trailer homes are so close together and propane tanks are near the trailers, fire presents a real problem. But the firefighters were able to contain it and the fire was over by about 11p.m. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Alicia Hobson, whose mother lives at the park said. "They evacuated part of the neighborhood again after the fire was out, because they found another propane tank was leaking. They let those guys back in at 4am."
Mike Wahlberg, Garden City Fire Chief said, "As most of the locals know by now, we had a very dangerous fire last night in the Sweetwater Trailer Park that destroyed 3 homes and heavily damaged another. The propane explosions were felt and heard as far as a few miles away. Our guys did an exceptionally good job of attacking the fire and keeping more propane tanks from exploding. There were no injuries and I can't help but think that the Lord played a big part in that. Our community is blessed with skilled volunteers who train hard and fight hard. I can't think of better people anywhere. A big shout out to Laketown Fire and Bear Lake County Fire. Our law enforcement and EMTs were there for us as well and kept us safe. You guys were there for us when we needed you most and you didn't disappoint! Everybody worked seamlessly together and by tackling their own particular tasks the firefight was textbook successful."
 |
| Photo by Mike Wahlberg |
 |
| Photo by Jill Adams Hite |
 |
| Photo by Carol Ann Dyer |
The Garden City Fire District responded quickly as did other departments from the county. Eventually eight engines and 30 firefighters from the Garden City Fire District, Laketown Fire District and Bear Lake County Fire Department responded to the blaze.
The fire started at 3199 Nina Loop. One witness said that it was believed to be a barbeque grill that caused the initial fire but that has not been confirmed by the fire department. The witness said that the grill exploded and then fire quickly spread to the first trailer which had several small five gallon propane tanks stored and boxes of ammunition which also exploded. As the fire spread, a residential propane tank nearby exploded.
The first home was consumed quickly and the fire spread to the neighboring trailers destroying two more and damaging a fourth. A Garden City firefighter was within 50 feet of the biggest explosion but is fine.
Jason Wade Matthews, Garden City Firefighter explained it this way, "So tonight was crazy. Myself and one other firefighter jumped in the engine, we set out behind our ladder truck but none of us (5 firefighters) knew just what we were heading to. Upon arrival I stopped at the hydrant closest to the fire and dropped my rider off. He did exactly as trained, grabbed the line off the hose bed of the truck and started tapping the hydrant as I drove the engine up the hill to get uphill and upwind of the fire.
Immediately upon passing the fire the first explosion happened. Then the second larger explosion. I felt both explosions in my chest. I thought for sure my fellow firefighter was killed. There are no words to describe the feeling I had. I thought I had just lost a brother. Finally I got a charged line to feed the engine and the shock of what just happened faded.
Several other smaller explosions kept happening. I hear on the radio that we now have a bleve with a 500 gallon propane tank and it scared the hell out of me. Then suddenly I see the crew pick up and put out. I had firefighters running out the cross lays and attacking the fire even though things were blowing up all around us. I didn’t know the status of the firefighter who rode with me and I was afraid to ask. When I found out he was just fine I honestly had a tear in my eye.
I won’t embellish or sugar coat this, tonight all hell broke lose and we proved that our training works. This became a three agency fire and we could not have done this without Bear Lake County and Laketown's help. I saw things tonight that no FF1 or FF2 book will ever prepare you for. Brave men, brothers, who knew life was at risk put out and saved a neighborhood as well as themselves. And none of us got hurt."
Because the vacation trailer homes are so close together and propane tanks are near the trailers, fire presents a real problem. But the firefighters were able to contain it and the fire was over by about 11p.m. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Alicia Hobson, whose mother lives at the park said. "They evacuated part of the neighborhood again after the fire was out, because they found another propane tank was leaking. They let those guys back in at 4am."
Mike Wahlberg, Garden City Fire Chief said, "As most of the locals know by now, we had a very dangerous fire last night in the Sweetwater Trailer Park that destroyed 3 homes and heavily damaged another. The propane explosions were felt and heard as far as a few miles away. Our guys did an exceptionally good job of attacking the fire and keeping more propane tanks from exploding. There were no injuries and I can't help but think that the Lord played a big part in that. Our community is blessed with skilled volunteers who train hard and fight hard. I can't think of better people anywhere. A big shout out to Laketown Fire and Bear Lake County Fire. Our law enforcement and EMTs were there for us as well and kept us safe. You guys were there for us when we needed you most and you didn't disappoint! Everybody worked seamlessly together and by tackling their own particular tasks the firefight was textbook successful."
 |
| Photos by Bobbie Bicknell Coray |
No comments:
Post a Comment