House Fire Endangers Responders
A house fire was reported in Poplar at 3:36 p.m. Oct. 23. A statement from the Poplar Volunteer Fire Department said that multiple firefighters were paged out to a structure fire at 407 C Street West. As of 7:30 p.m., nine firefighters were reported as hospitalized for possible toxic smoke inhalation.
According to the statement, “One of the nine members was transported to the hospital by ambulance and the other eight went up to be checked out by the on-call doctor at NEMHS.”
The department said responding agencies included EMS staff and thanked “the rest of the NEMHS crew, tribal, state and county law enforcement, the Culbertson Volunteer Fire Department for helping us extinguish and mop-up the scene.” Donald Boyd assisted with traffic control. The scene was initially turned over to tribal law enforcement.
PVFD Lieutenant/public information officer Matt Paulson reported that the state fire marshal’s finding in the cause of the fire said that arson was ruled out and the cause of the fire was a space heater plugged into a smaller power strip and extension cord. Paulson said the strip failed and ignited combustible materials around it and space heater. The sound of windows imploding on the east side of the structure from the intense heat and gases was also reported.
Paulson said, “The nine firefighters that became very ill and were exposed from toxicity of the smoke are still feeling minor complications but are expected to make a full recovery. Seven of the nine werewearingtheirSCBAs after the first member went down and was rushed to the hospital. The state fire marshal believes the yellow smoke was a combination of the materials made of old foam insulation pads, sheetrock and asbestos, since the house was probably built in the early 1970s.”
Paulson said area residents should take precautions as cold weather approaches. Homeowners should plug space heaters into wall sockets that are rated for the heater’s electric current. Try to avoid using smaller rated extension cords as they are known to fail when they are supplying a higher rated powered device.
