Early Morning Structure Fire

Monday, July 8th at approximately 4:00 am, Golden Valley Firefighters responded to a reported brush fire around Hermit & Stewart Mountain Road. Instead of a brush fire, firefighters discovered a fully involved travel trailer and garage-type structure nearly burnt to the ground on Teddy Roosevelt, just north of Mesa Verde Drive. Firefighters quickly extinguished the remains, preventing the fire from spreading and starting a brush fire. Chief O’Donohue reported the Golden Valley Fire Marshal was called to the scene to investigate. There were no occupants in the travel trailer and the property owners were not on-scene during extinguishment operations. The trailer and contents were a total loss, and no injuries were reported. 

Structure Fire Challenges Golden Valley Firefighters

PHOTOS (from top):
Firefighters arrive to find heavy smoke coming from underneath and from the attic area, work being done on hot-spots after the fire was extinguished, overhauling the interior, pulling ceiling tiles to look for fire extension

NARRATIVE:

Golden Valley Firefighters responded to a structure fire at 3887 N. Bowie Road at 8:00 am on Tuesday, July 2nd after a neighbor discovered the fire, initially thinking the homeowner was having an illegal burn. Firefighters arrived within two minutes to discover the underside of the doublewide on fire, as well as the bedroom and attic area. The initial crew made entry and determined there were no occupants, which was later confirmed by neighbors who stated they were on vacation. Firefighters were forced to enter the building from the side that was well involved in fire due to a large volume of storage in the front room, which is counterintuitive, according to Chief O’Donohue. Despite strong winds which accelerated the fire growth, the fire was declared under control with thirty-one minutes of arrival, saving the majority of the structure. O’Donohue reported that three engine companies, two water tenders, three chiefs, fire marshal, and several off-duty personnel responded to quickly mitigate the fire. “We take no chances when it comes to saving homes or ensuring firefighter safety”, O’Donohue said. There were no injuries and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Golden Valley Firefighters Handle Hazardous Materials Release

PHOTO:
A plume of Ammonia gas can be seen escaping from a leak at the Griffith Energy Plant while Firefighters begin to make entry.

NARRATIVE:
Golden Valley Fire firefighters responded to an Ammonia leak at the Griffith Energy Plant in the Golden Valley Industrial corridor near Mile-Post 37 on Hwy-40 Sunday June 30th in the evening at 6:30 pm.  Fire Chief Thomas O’Donohue reported that, according to Griffith Energy officials, a nipple on a half-inch pipe for an Ammonia tank failed causing the moderate release of approximately 5,200 pounds, or 6,000 gallons of Ammonia into the atmosphere.  The release initiated the evacuation of the Griffith Plant as well as the precautionary notification of the Arizona State Prison, Praxair and ADOT of the incident should there have been a catastrophic release of ammonia according to Chief O’Donohue.  O’Donohue reported Golden Valley Fire, Kingman Fire, DPS and Griffith Energy Hazardous Materials Teams made entry into the Ammonia plume created by the leak.  MCSO assigned a sergeant, who assisted with plume monitoring around the plant.  O’Donohue stated hazardous materials operations are slow and deliberate to assure the safety of both firefighters and citizens.  O’Donohue stressed, while precautionary measures were put in place, at no time was the public in danger because the Ammonia plume was kept on site.  The hazard was eliminated just before 9:00 pm.

Moving day for Golden Valley Fire

June 20th, 2013

Today’s move was planned nearly 8 months ago when the Golden Valley Fire District Board of Directors approved a plan brought to them by Fire Chief Thomas O’Donohue to construct a new fire station, ultimately located at 3480 Bacobi Road. The new “Station-11” will replace the Mayer Road station that was constructed in 1979. “The new fire station location better serves the community” said O’Donohue, outlining how this moves covers the SoHi area which, until now, was outside the 5-mile distance to qualify for lower insurance rates. It is one of three full-time firefighter/paramedic staffed fire stations, the others are Station-12 at 749 Egar Rd and Station-13 at 2790 Oatman Road. The Golden Valley Fire District’s Public Safety Training Center located at 423 S. Colorado Road, is planned to fill a void as well as part of a strategic plan to bring lower insurance rates to a growing section of Golden Valley according to O’Donohue. The new station, which cost approximately $830,000, has an estimated value closer to 1.5 million dollars as estimated by Board member Steve Robinson. The difference between the value and the final cost was due to consistent attention to cutting costs, and use of inmate labor that saved approximately a half-million dollars in labor expenses alone. The new 12,000 square foot fire station boasts six bedrooms, large kitchen, exercise room, large dayroom that can double for training and meetings, larger captain’s office, firefighter report and study room, and space for up to eight emergency apparatus. The Administrative offices will remain at the old facility while the Board considers options to expand to meet growing needs. An open house for the public is planned for early July.

Brush Fire Slows Hwy-68 Traffic

Golden Valley Firefighters quickly extinguish a fast-moving blaze Tuesday, just before noon, on Hwy-68 between Tooman and Bryce Roads. Fire Chief Thomas O’Donohue stated an ADOT employee reported the fire, which began on the north side of the highway. Firefighters arrived within two minutes of dispatch, and the fire had grown over ten times its original size.  O’Donohue stated the Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, which slowed traffic for about 30-minutes, while firefighters extinguished the fire and looked for hot-spots to prevent re-ignition. There was no damage to any property due to this fire.