I was up early on New Year`s Day getting caught up on some computer work, when I heard Leaburg, Bourbon, and Cuba Fire Departments get toned out for a residential structure fire near the Post Office in Leasburg. Initially it was toned as a Garage on fire, attached to a residence.

I headed that way, figuring Sullivan would respond as well but they were never toned out for it. I kept looking for smoke but never saw any until I parked at the post office and saw that the smoke was banking down near the ground and moving to the west down the valley.

Residential Structure Fire 2022-0101 Leasburg 110 First Street AVI 33.AVI

Leasburg Fire Department was first on scene and fighting fire with their Tanker/Pumper, when Bourbon Fire arrived with their pumper they parked behind Leasburg`s truck…Bourbon also responded at least one tanker, and Cuba responded with a pumper and tanker as well. Several firefighters were inside the residence holding the line at the wall that joins the garage to the residence on the south side.

The firefighters manning the hose and nozzle in front of the garage, were doing their best to get water on the flames inside it, everywhere at the same time….

Every once in a while, the flames would materialize out of the heavy smoke and show themselves and they would hit them and knock them back down….

…believe me, between all the elements that morning, the cold, the rain, the damp, heavy smoke and fire, they had their hands full and handled the situation well…

Residential Structure Fire 2022-0101 Leasburg 110 First Street AVI 46

I talked to the resident briefly, said he had three commercial lawnmowers inside the garage, for his mowing business, and it was gone.

Late in the evening on December 21st, I heard local police officers dispatched to an apartment fire on the other side of town, so I grabbed my camera and flash and headed that way, arriving just ahead of the on duty crew of firefighters…it was a very cold night and they were short of help, with firefighters on the way from St Clair, fifteen minutes away. Damon Sumpter, one of the off duty officers, lives across the street from this complex and he came over to help them hand jack the supply line from the pumper to the hydrant, a good couple hundred feet away. There were flames coming out of the middle apartment, around an air conditioner unit that was like a window unit but in a solid wood wall instead of a window…firefighter Nick White is pulling hose in front of  Apartment 32 and headed toward the flames as Captain Dave Konys, riding extra on the truck, checks the front door to the apartment….

…it is a bit of a ghostly image above…I shot it on aperture priority, when I should have had it on program, the flash illuminated everything fine, but I had to manually turn the camera off to get the image as it is, rather than wait ten seconds or more for the shutter to close on its own. I then shot from there on in program  mode, which I normally do at night. As the guys were straightening out the hoseline and preparing to attack the fire, I shot a couple of quick photos without the flash, only the strobe lights on the pumper illuminating the building as well as the flames on the other side of the apartment….

Apartment Building Fire 323 Jones Street , Apt 32 2021-1221

Firefighters were able to make a quick knockdown of the fire….

…while it took much longer to remove the smoke from the apartment…and a State Fire Marshal was contacted to respond for an investigation as things looked a bit suspicious. No one believed to be home at the time of the fire and all other occupants of that unit were evacuated prior to arrival of the firefighters. St Clair firefighters arrived and assisted with overhaul and repacking the five inch supply line.

I heard Cuba and Bourbon Fire Departments toned out for a House Fire on Hwy P north of Cuba one morning and shortly after Cuba`s arrival, a second alarm was dispatched, bringing Sullivan, Steelville, and Beaufort-Leslie Fire Districts to the scene as well. I arrived shortly behind Sullivan`s Pumper 854.

I didn`t know it at the time, but found out soon after walking up, that there was an Animal Control Officer there because several dogs were running loose on the property…

….and then I learned that firefighters making initial entry, discovered several dogs inside the residence in heavy smoke, all of them were rescued…several law enforcement officers were on scene assisting as well.

Firefighters encountered heavy fire and smoke near the back wall of the residence on arrival, and initially it was believed a handicapped resident might be inside….

…but luckily it turned out no one was inside the house except the dogs, and fortunately they were rescued by firefighters shortly after their arrival….one of the medics had a couple of puppies in her arms even…

the fire was called in by a neighbor who lives down the road, talked to him briefly on the scene. Firefighters had their hands full on this one but did a great job in bringing the fire under control and dealing with the number of dogs on scene.