The Clinton Fire Department responded to a fire on 4th and Jefferson streets Friday evening (February 3). It took some time before CFD could contain the blaze. The Clinton Daily Democrat caught up with Assistant Fire Chief Matt Willings Monday morning to get some details.
The structure was declared a total loss and estimated damages were put at about $50,000. It was vacant, but there are indications that arson may have been involved; the State Fire Marshal will have the final conclusion in that matter.
The Clinton Fire Department was on scene for over five hours (about 6 pm to nearly midnight): “Fire was hidden in the walls and it was an older home,” said Assistant Chief Willings. Another issue surfaced for CFD while on the call: manpower. The NFPA requires a minimum of 15 fire personnel to be on scene at a residential structure fire; Clinton Fire Department was only able to muster 12 (if you count Fire Chief Mark Manuel and Assistant Chief Willings, there were technically 14); the City of Urich helped shore Clinton Fire up and sent six men. In short, the shortage of personnel for Clinton Fire Department is not getting better and they have been having problems maintaining a full staff for some time now – especially with the increase in calls in recent years.
“We were exhausted,” said Willings. “We had to call in back-up, and thank you to Urich for sending those six guys.” On another note, however, the nearly-new Ladder Truck One (bought with well-spent tax-payer money) did come in very useful: “We were able to get over it and on top of it [to keep it contained],” said Willings.
There will be a yearly-service report given at the next city council session which will be investigated further by The Clinton Daily Democrat and appear in a future article. It is presumed that the report will detail the annual increases in fire calls and the staff ratio at the fire department; perhaps a contrast with surrounding communities/towns will be in the report as well.
