Barrow County fire department had a busy holiday week as they assisted with multiple different fires in only a few days.
Most recently, two separate fires – a house fire and a barn fire - kept Barrow County fire department busy Sunday morning. The house fire on Lockwalde Lane started outside the home and damaged the siding and frame.
Then, later in the morning, a barn fire on Glass Road endangered chickens being housed there. The cause of that fire was electrical and it was able to be extinguished without the fire spreading to the roof of the barn.
While yesterday was a busy one for the fire department, Captain Scott Dakin says Sunday’s fires were just two of many over the holiday week from. Between December 23rd and December 27th, a total of six fires were called in, keeping the emergency crews quite busy.
While most of the fires only caused minimal damaged, one outbuilding, along with its contents, was destroyed on Atlanta Highway Christmas Eve. The other fires were exterior fires that were extinguished quickly before entering the inside of any residences, with the exception of one where smoke was inside the home. Embers were discovered burning behind a fireplace insert and it required removing the insert to put out any hot spots.
Captain Dakin says that the fire emergencies were only a few of the many 9-1-1 calls they responded to over the Christmas holidays and he credits the firefighters and dispatchers for their commitment to serving, even while everyone else is home with their families. “We want to thank them for their hard work and dedication,” he said in a press release Monday evening.
He added that the holidays are not “days off” for those who are in public service. “As public safety professionals we are always working and ready to respond no matter what day it is,” stated Dakin. “However, as human beings we would prefer to be slow over the Christmas holidays, but unfortunately this year that did not work out.”
