At 5:15 pm, on August 2, 2006, the Pearland VFD was toned out for a structure fire at 17616 County Road 125.
Heavy smoke was visible while en route, and the house was fully involved upon the arrival of the first unit. Engine 31 was the first truck to arrive. FF Hanzik used a 1-3/4" crosslay to knock down the fire on side A, while FF Ware set up the deck gun to help keep the fire from spreading to the travel trailer next door which was beginning to show signs of radiant heat damage. They ran out of water almost immediately, forcing them to wait for more trucks to arrive. Since this house was in an area with no hydrants, trucks had to shuttle water into the scene.
The fire started a small grass fire 50-75 yards down the road in an empty lot, but it was quickly extinguished with Brush 33, the second unit to arrive. Friendswood VFD had been requested for mutual aid while units were en route, and they supplied two engines and two chief officers.
The house was built in the 40's, and therefore had some strong construction work that the firefighters had to contend with to extinguish all the smoldering hotspots. They finally cleared the scene around 11:20 pm. The fire rekindled the next morning and Friendswood VFD responded with Chief 801 and Engine 3 to put it out.
Units on scene were Engine 31, Brush 33, Engine 11, Rescue 51, Support 2, Engine 20, Engine 41, Engine 42, Brush 43, as well as several firefighters and support personnel who came by POV. Pearland EMS supplied Medic 2. Pearland PD supplied several officers, but they did not stay on scene because this call was outside the city limits.
Brazoria County provided several sheriff units and one constable unit. The Friendswood fire units that helped out were Engines 2 and 30, Chief 801, and Duty Officer 899. No injuries were reported. The fire was started by a bird’s nest on an electrical pole that caused sparks to be thrown. The neighbor tried to put it out with a garden hose, but to no avail.
