SEE PHOTO GALLERY FROM MAW SALVAGE SCRAP FIRE:
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BRIGHTON - The scrap fire at MAW Salvage at 1020 Fosterburg Road in Brighton was a Box Alarm fire that showed the strong cooperation of area fire departments in the battle to extinguish the blaze. A Commercial Box Alarm fire is one that requires multiple fire departments to assist in an active scene.
The reported list of fire departments included Fosterburg, Alton, Godfrey, Brighton, Dorsey, Medora, Jerseyville, QEM, Staunton, Shipman and Bunker Hill. Alton Fire Department Fire Chief Bernie Sebold said it was an intricate operation of cooperation from the different departments. The firefighters worked valiantly together to halt the fire through Tuesday afternoon at the Brighton scene.
“We had our city ladder truck out there,” he said. “The fire was a pile of some type of plastic, I don’t know if was trash tires or what as part of the salvage operation. We are having to hustle in and pump to our ladder truck. The company (MAW Salvage) is using a track hoe to pull the scrap apart and using the ladder to wet it down.
“One of the reasons for the number of fire departments is the limited water in that area. There is a limited amount of water supply and they are having to conduct a water shuttle bringing tankers of water from a source back to the pump in the tank, then pump out. There is a continuous supply of water just driving a lap to the water and it takes multiple fire apparatus to have a continuous supply of water.”
The proper way to call it is a tender shuttle operation explained Chief Sebold.
“It does have to be a very coordinated effort to do that so you don’t have delays of refilling the truck and dumping water at the scene. You have to have them in a continuous loop,” Sebold said.
He said around 1:30 p.m. he expected the Alton Fire ladder truck to be on the scene for about another estimated hour and a half. The cause of the fire was not yet known, Sebold said.
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
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