Even before the first apparatus arrived on scene, Maumelle, Arkansas firefighters could see the glow from a reported house fire in the Country Club of Arkansas subdivision and called for a recall of off-duty personnel and for mutual aid from two neighboring departments.
When Maumelle's Engine Company 1 arrived on scene shortly before 6 a.m. on January 3, they found the house at 124 Limoges Court fully involved with fire spreading to both neighboring homes.
With no possibility of entering the burning home, personnel immediately stretched two 1.75" handlines to protect houses on either side of the fire, which were already suffering fire and heat damage. A ladder pipe was raised and used to knock down the bulk of fire in the burning home. A third handline was then stretched into the house to extinguish the remaining pockets of fire.
In all, twelve of 13 career firefighters and five volunteer firefighters from Maumelle responded with the assistance of engine companies from the North Little Rock Fire Department the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department.
Crews remained on scene overhauling the home and extinguishing hot spots for more than three hours. Investigators then began to process the scene with the assistance of the Little Rock Fire Department.
No one was home at the time of the fire. The cause remains under investigation.
The Maumelle Fire Department was created in 2004 with the separation of a former Department of Public Safety. The department's line personnel include a career chief, 13 career firefighters and 14 volunteer firefighters. The department provides fire, rescue & non-transport EMS service to a growing population of approximately 14,500 citizens located along the northern bank of the Arkansas River in central Arkansas.
