A 2-Alarm fire on Bethel Island destroyed two homes and damaged one as East Contra Costa Fire crews responded within 8-minutes of the reported fire.
The fire started in a one-story home and quickly moved to a second home—both were deemed “total loses” by Chief Hugh Henderson. Fire crews were able to prevent a loss of a third home, but it caused an estimated $20,000 in damage.
As of 6:30 am, the response included 10 engines, four water tenders and about 40 fire personnel, explained Henderson. However, around 8:30 fire vehicles were still headed to the scene—possibly in relief of those who had been on since the blaze started.
In an email that went out around 11:00 am:
The first alarm was five engines, three water tenders, and two chief officers. The second alarm was five engines, one water tender, and two chief officers. The district did request a breathing support from Contra Costa fire to assist in filling air bottles.
What residents of East County cannot forget is while this incident tied up 40-personnel and engines (ECCFPD and CONFIRE), what was the backup plan had another incident occurred? What was the coverage level of the District say if a fire broke out in Brentwood? That is where real trouble begins.
I will be updating this incident later today when more information is made available, but here is a quick overview from when I left the scene.
What went wrong?
- Bethel Island Station closed in July 2012—instead of a 1-mile response, the closest station is now 5 miles away with backup being even further.
- No hydrants on the island, they had to pump water out of the Delta.
- PG&E power line fell during the incident – took them 90-minutes to respond
- No ladder truck to get over the fire—had to come from CONFIRE. Since the home was built so high, crews could not attack it from below.
What went right?
- The incident occurred around 2:30 am meaning few cars on the road or other accidents/incidents to attend to
- Spring Break for Oakley Schools which means less traffic for emergency personnel to deal with heading to the incident
- Aid from CONFIRE
If anyone has pictures, I’ll add them to the gallery, email me at [email protected] . Also, please let me know what the victims of this incident need so I can put out the information to help.
Other sources:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=9034305
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/03/20/2-alarm-fire-burns-homes-on-bethel-island/
15 comments
Maybe our fire district should have asked for money to purchase a Quint instead of asking for for Paramedics. They could have made an argument that since we have multi-storied apartments now, as well as B.I. with no hydrates a Quint was necessary. In my opinion the fire station closures had little to no affect on the outcome of this fire. Fortunately, it sounds, like no one was injured.
That would be nice, but who would drive it if they can’t afford the personnel? The parcel tax was intended more for keeping Stations open than asking for paramedics.
The firefighters sure look tired after being up most of the night. Glad they could save a third home from going to the ground. Nice photos!
Great photos, wish you were on scene with the actual fire going. That said, why anyone would want to live on Bethel Island with hydrants or a fire station? Seems like you are playing games you are bound to lose at some point. Hate to see what would have happened had Knightsen not re-opened recently because Oakley would have been first on scene followed by Discovery Bay or Brentwood. More houses could have been gone. Hope the Board moves faster on finding a solution because this is way to many fires in a short period of time.
You are joking right? Bethel Island stations closure had little to no affect on the outcome of this fire? That is an ignorant statement!
Actually, not so ignorant. With two firefighters on Engine 95, Bethel Island’s engine could have done only three things: 1) Confirm on radio that there is a big fire, 2) ask if all residents were out of the houses, and 3) maybe get defensive on the outside of the third house with a reel line. Hard to see if any of these would affect the outcome.
I’d much rather have the station open than not! Even if they would be limited due to the size of the fire.
If I had *my* preferences, I would get new Fire Station construction started ASAP and relocate three engine companies. One relocation would shave off four minutes response time to Bethel Island, and another station would be somewhat closer to Bethel Island than is currently the case.
My *personal* assessment is that all the above is moot until we can get a stable funding plan for the District.
I stress that I speak for myself only, and not for the Board as a whole, or any of my fellow members.
Actually, the District has had a grant application in for a Quint for some time, which would be cross-staffed with one of our existing engines. There is also a great deal of study going on–and careful changes being made–to the enire County EMS system. This would affect any future consideration regarding Paramedics.
We are very fortunate that no other incidents, fire or medical, occurred during the six hours it took to fight this fire. Our District was “all in” on this one, along with a majority of the Pittsburg/Antioch CONFIRE units.
Mike, as always, good coverage and excellent photos on this. Despite all the hardships they have to endure, ECCFPD firefighters and CCCFPD firefighters are always “all in” as stated above and should have the credit they deserve. It is scary to think what would have happened if there had been a second large incident. I wish more people would have thought about that when there was an opportunity to do something about it.
I just have a question about hydrants. Why have all those expensive yet to be built homes been allowed? I guess they aren’t required with the river right there?
Any new subdivision must have hydrants. The major new construction is not on the Island itself.
This explains all the loud noise jetting down cypress in the middle of the night. I feel sorry for those who are affected by the fire. Hopefully they are getting much needed assistance.
Steve Smith I am thinking of that mess that is right in the middle of BI that went bankrupt and has sat for years. Remember they made a big cut in the levee to make those water front homes?
Took me a while to get a definitive answer. Construction was begun on the streets and infrastructure of Delta Coves, and suspended upon bankruptcy. Hydrants were included, although there was some controversy about water supply. In the interim, the hydrants have been vandalized by thieves seeking brass to sell to recyclers. In addition, before the bankruptcy, the Developer did give the District $100,000 to buy a fireboat.
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