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Fayette | News

House destroyed by fire

Fri, 12/08/2006 - 3:43pm

By: John Munford

A house off Adams Road in unincorporated Fayette County was heavily damaged by a Friday afternoon fire.

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it appears that it likely started while soldering work was being performed to repair a pipe, said Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

The fire is being ruled accidental in nature, Nelms added.

A total of 25 county firefighters fought the blaze, Nelms said. Crews entered the house to knock down the flames but they were later ordered out for safety precautions, as the amount of fire became too great and the structure’s integrity was called into question, Nelms added.

Because there was no hydrant immediately near the home, crews had to use tanker trucks to ferry water to the scene from hydrants just down the road, Nelms said.

The homeowner delayed calling 911, initially attempting to put the flames out himself, Nelms said.

A person who was home at the time suffered a minor injury after initially reporting the fire to 911, officials said.

Some residents on the scene questioned the response time of firefighters, but Nelms said the first unit on the scene arrived within seven minutes of being dispatched from the county’s 911 center; it took less than a minute for the crews to be dispatched, he added. All the times are documented at the county’s 911 center, Nelms noted.

Adams Road is located in the central area of unincorporated Fayette County.

Why Such A Slow Response Time?

Submitted by Fayco resident on Fri, 01/23/2009 - 11:36pm.

It is just under 2 miles to that house from station 8. The wonderful quint that we Fayette County residents paid for should be able to get there in less than 4 min. As far as the lack of street lights, Fayette County FD should have gotten a higher power light on the front of the quint to help see the numbers on the mail boxes. Also, why is it that most house fires in Fayette County get burned to the ground? The fire dept needs to focus on fire training and not so much on the high tech medical stuff. Just an observation

The Home Owner DELAYED Calling for Help

Submitted by skyspy on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 12:57am.

That might be the first clue as to why the home was not saved. Why do home owners do this? They wait until it's almost too late and then cry and snivel...

This happened 2 yrs ago, but now you think the response time was too long. Was it too long before or after your friend finally realized they didn't know what they were doing?

Secondly because it was in a rural area they had to truck water in.

Maybe the fire dept. was on another call before this one came in. If that was the case they might have been further away than the location of their station.

Wells have something to do with no hydrants?

Submitted by amomof3 on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 10:42am.

I previously lived in southern Fayette Co. by Starrs Mill and most of the homes in that area are either on private or public well, thus no fire hydrants in subdivisions.

Fire Department Response!

Submitted by pat2002 on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 9:00am.

In regards to the 7 minute response time for the "First Arriving" unit, I think this needs to be clarified, was it an actually Fire Engine or a supervisor in a utility vehicle? I think this is what the public doesn't see, they hear the arriving time of a first in unit but in this case the first in unit did not have water to put on the fire, so what was the actual response time for the first arriving fire engine? I believe I observed a few cars before fire trucks. Just wondering!

Why no hydrants?

Submitted by Vernon on Fri, 12/08/2006 - 5:05pm.

I would think that Fayette Co. would be well covered with fire hydrants. Maybe the commissioners should push for that. It would actually be useful for all the expensive homes. Instead the commission is spending money on needless items. It is sad that our fire department is hindered because of political doings. I think all citizens should pressure the commissioners to order the water department to provide fire hydrants on all roads, especially ones with homes on them.

Fire hydrants and fire insurance

Submitted by helpful lawyer on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 8:31am.

It costs a lot more to get fire insurance on a home that is not within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant. That's the underwriting rule followed by insurance companies; that's where they draw the line.

Many homeowners would be way better off paying a bit more in county taxes to have fire hydrants close enough to their home. The decrease in their homeowners' insurance premium could be much greater than the increase in their county tax.

This is one of these rare cases where it'd be smart to be willing to pay a bit more tax.

On top of that, for many people the county tax is deductible on their income tax return and the insurance premium is not. So even if the increase in their county tax matched the decrease in their insurance premium they'd be ahead financially.

Who says taxes are all bad?

For people who use wells, the presence of a water line within a reasonable distance of their home also provides a form of insurance against their well going dry. Otherwise the value of their home could be destroyed.

Fire Hydrants, Ins. & Taxes

Submitted by bladderq on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 6:22pm.

You are correct, those without county water and hydrants would be better off to pay more in taxes to get lower insurance rates and better fire service protection. BUT, I can spit at the hydrant in front of my place in PTC, so why should I pay more in county taxes? We can now once again open up the EMS debate.

Unincorporated Fayette Co.

Submitted by 1BravesFan on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 4:03pm.

Unincorporated Fayette Co. lacks 2 safety items:

1) Fire Hydrants

2) Street Lighting

Both need to be addressed ASAP considering the growth of the area. Failure to acknowledge the need of both is sheer irresponsibility by the powers that be.

Fayette county

Submitted by Flydecajon on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 10:20am.

I also live in Unincorporatd FC and I have a hydrant on our street. I have drivin my Bike through the back roads of FC seems to mee there are a lot of Fire hydrants around. The house that was burnt probably had a fire hydrant close to it.

Probaly?

Submitted by Vernon on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 11:16am.

Check the roadway and I'm sure you will see that the nearest fire hydrant was too far away, otherwise I'm sure the fire department would have used it if at all possible.

Unincorporated FC

Submitted by Git Real on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 9:38pm.

1) Fire Hydrants

It's not feasible to lay all the water mains it would require to have fire hydrants througout the county at one time. The cost of this infrastructure enhancement is far more than the taxpayers can bear. Do you have any sort of clue what the cost per foot is to install an 8 or 12 water main is? I really don't think you can afford your idea either.

2) Street Lighting

Are you freaking nuts? If you want street lights then move to Dekalb County. They have plenty of street lights there. As for me and my neighbors we love the darkness of a more rural setting.

Not unreasonable

Submitted by Vernon on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 11:35am.

Nobody is suggesting it all be done at one time. But over time there should be fire hydrants on each road and most SHOULD have already been covered. Just because there is a fire hydrant present doesn't mean we will lose the "country feel" we all love. Next time you visit or neighbors to the south / southeast, you may notice that they have real good coverage of fire hydrants and a lower tax base than we do here in Fayette. If the majority of homeowners do not want hydrants on their road, that is fine, leave it the way it is. Of course these same people have no right to whine that their insurance is too expensive, nor the right to critize the fire department when their nice expensive homes burn to the ground because there isn't enough water. I am proud to say I am fortunate enough to have a nice home on a road with a hydrant fairly close and believe that if my home does catch on fire the fire department will be able to save it, or at least some of it, depending on when the fire was reported. Also, I have the "country feel". Grant it I'm not in favor of street lights.

Git a

Submitted by bladderq on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 10:33pm.

You forgot to tell 'em to Git-a-Gun. I mean if they want street lights, they must be ascared and you do favor an armed citizenery w/ Pistol Tot'n Licenses?
I guess if the current commission hadn't wasted all that money on the FCSD lawsuit lookin'n for mischief, he'd have his lights & water....just kiddin'.

I like it out here dark

Submitted by Git Real on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 11:17pm.

I remember when we first moved into this house and my wife who had grown up in the burbs talked about how dark it was. She referred to it as "country dark". Now she loves it.

The only time light shines through our windows at night is during a big bright full moon. Can't shut that light off......wouldn't want to anyways.

Keep it dark but mark the roads more clearly

Submitted by swmbo on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 6:11pm.

Git Real, I'm with you. I love that we can see the stars so clearly, out here. The light pollution in Metro Atlanta keeps you from seeing just how beautiful the night sky really is.

Now, on the other hand, Fayette County really needs to do a better job of marking the roads. We need more reflectors on the roads and brighter paint markings in the rural areas. I can't tell you how many times I've almost had a head-on collision with someone who can't see which side of the road is theirs. Plus, as we have a population that is aging, we need to make it safe for our seniors to drive at night.

-------------------------------
If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

Now To This I Could Agree Spending....

Submitted by Git Real on Sun, 12/10/2006 - 9:12pm.

Paint and markers are the greatest road safety enhancements since....oh I don't know. On our dark roads this is the solution for safe night travel. I'll pay that improvement. A few more markers and a higher quality paint is the ticket. Plus county workers that can drive a straight line while applying it.

Blue Hairs