At approximately 3:15 Thursday morning, July 17, 2003 the White Settlement Volunteer Fire Department was summoned to respond to a residential structure fire in the 8100 block of George Street in the city. A neighbor, returning from an early morning trip to the laundry mat, called 911 and units were promptly dispatched.
It is not known how long the residence was on fire before it was reported to authorities. The crew on Pump 3, Lt.Craig Slovak, Lt. Tim Rawlings, and Fireman Brian Hekele arrived shortly after C2, Jack Bell, and found this one story house fully involved. They were the first to attempt entry through the front door. It was quickly determined however that an exterior attack would be the safest until the fire was knocked down. Lt Kevin Richter was engineer on Pump 3.
Other units responding were C3 (Jim Nelson) and C4 (Dan Taylor), Pump 1, Quint 1, Utility 1.
Neighbors stated that the resident was not at home. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No one was injured and the residence is considered a total loss.
