The 356 Volunteer Fire Department in Trinity County was destroyed by a blaze early Sunday morning, according to KTRE-TV.
A passerby reported the fire just after midnight and witnesses said the building on F.M. 356 was already engulfed in flames before firefighters arrived.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"It was heartbreaking to sit there and watch your fire station burn, and you can't do anything because you don't have water to put on it. There's no way to do anything to stop it," Fire Chief Jesse Baker told the news station.
It took crews close to three hours to extinguish the fire and Baker said everything was destroyed with damages estimated around $400,000.
The department lost two brush trucks, a rescue truck and a tanker truck in the blaze.
What will be even more difficult for the department is that the chief said the fire department doesn't have insurance and will have to start from scratch.
"We're just going to have to count on our public to help and county on any help that we can get, anywhere we can get it," he said.
Donations
To obtain information on helping the department, e-mail Regina Baker at [email protected] or call 936-662-2985.
