July 14--Less than 24 hours after the Dundee Volunteer Fire Department building was damaged beyond use by a fire, a trailer fire broke out in the Dundee department's coverage area.
Dundee Fire Chief Danny Pogue said the fire was adequately handled by other area fire departments that have mutual aid agreements with the Dundee department. The mutual aid agreements are working well, Pogue said.
"That night, since we were down, Fordsville was the primary" responder, Pogue said. The response time "may just be a little bit longer for the other agencies, but it's not much."
The June 15 fire started in one of Dundee's two fire engines.
The fire destroyed the department's vehicles, damaged the building to where it cannot be used and destroyed much of the equipment.
The exact cause of the fire is still being investigated by the department's insurance adjusters, Pogue said.
The fire is known to have begun in the engine's battery compartment, but it is unknown what component cause the fire, Pogue said.
"They can take a while" to determine a cause. "It's obvious there was no malicious intent or arson involved. It's a matter of a simple component gone bad."
Until the exact cause if found, however, the insurance companies can't settle claims with the department, Pogue said. Dundee firefighters are still attempting to salvage what equipment they can from the fire.
"We have pretty much inventoried everything we could get out of the building," Pogue said. "We're working with insurance now" to determine what pieces of equipment are still suitable for use, Pogue said.
"We were only able to get everything off the truck (where the fire started) a week ago," Pogue said.
Although the department does not have a building or trucks, firefighters are still meeting and training regularly, Pogue said. In the meantime, the firefighters are working with surrounding departments or with the ambulance service.
"I'm doing the same thing," Pogue said. "I'm joining with Rosine to help them out and others went to Fordsville.
"We are still active and we are still getting our training," Pogue said. "It's my job to keep people motivated."
Pogue said he hopes to hear soon from the insurance adjusters on the cause of the fire.
"They will give me a cause if they determine one," Pogue said. "The truck was badly damaged by the fire, but they can do a lot with that. Hopefully, they'll be able to pinpoint which piece of equipment malfunctioned."
James Mayse, 691-7303, [email protected]
Copyright 2013 - Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
