Firefighters called out 4 times Wednesday

Posted

BROOKINGS — Brookings firefighters were busy Wednesday as they answered four calls and another on Monday, none of which amounted to much, said Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann.

The first one came in as a fire alarm and water flow at 10:07 a.m. for JC Penney at 990 22nd Avenue South.

Police officers arriving on the scene found alarms going off and a panel did show water flow, Hartmann said.

“Upon checking the system, there was no flow at the time,” he said.

“We believe — talking with the water department — it potentially was them opening a 12-inch line up in the construction area. There was just enough fluctuation to trip the sensors. It was nothing,” Hartmann said.

Firefighters cleared the scene at 10:20 a.m.

The tones rang out at 2:21 p.m. for the Children’s Museum at 521 Fourth Street.

“That ended up being a young male child that had pulled a fire alarm. The system was reset,” Hartmann said.

The crews cleared the scene at 2:27 p.m.

Another alarm went off at 4:22 p.m. at Brookings Health System at 300 22nd Avenue.

“That ended up being maintenance construction work on their alarm panel,” Hartmann said.

Crews cleared the scene at 4:27 p.m.

The final call on Wednesday came at 6:45 p.m. for an apartment complex at 229 10th Street and was reported as a fire in an oven, Hartmann said.

Local police vacated the other apartments as smoke came from the involved apartment, he said.

“Our crews went up, made entry into the apartment. It had been contained to the oven,” Hartmann said.

He figures the individual was using the bottom tray of the gas oven for storage when it’s actually a broiler unit, “so when they turned the oven on, it caught (things) on fire,” he said.

Fire crews ventilated the apartment and there was no real damage, Hartmann said. They cleared the scene at 7:19 p.m.

The call Monday came at 1:39 p.m. for a gas leak outside of Eidsness Funeral Home at 1617 Orchard Drive.

“We did have a smell; NorthWestern Energy showed up. They did find a very small leak in a valve and they repaired it,” Hartmann said.

Fire crews cleared the scene at 2:07 p.m., he said.

Hartmann also said 15 firefighters would be in Mitchell for a state fire school today and Saturday.

“We still have a good force in town; that’s why we limit the number that can go,” he said.

Burn with caution

Although Brookings is not under a burn ban, Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann is advising caution with fire.

“Even though (the landscape) may be green, it’s very, very dry out. Some of the erratic winds we’ve had can make a fire very unpredictable and (it) can get away very quickly,” he said.

“Please look at the conditions, not only during (the event), but coming up, if you are planning a controlled burn,” Hartmann said.

“We’re not asking for a burn ban at this point, but we would ask people to be very cautious with any burning they may want to do,” he said.