Former Moss Bluff Fire Department Chief Michael Kuk can still remember the smell of burning tar as he watched the roof of Sam Houston High School melt before his eyes.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years,” he said while scanning through a scrapbook of 35mm four-by-six prints of the Jan. 11, 1982, fire. “That day I was supposed to have a surprise party for my 33rd birthday. I had begun suspecting something because firefighters from the overnight shift were still hanging around and everyone was in a festive mood at the station.”
The mood didn’t last long.
“It was the coldest day of the year, only 18 degrees,” Kuk said. “The water works district superintendent had come to the fire station that morning and said, ‘Chief, if there are any fires today and they’re bad your people need to call me because I’ll have to shut valves to make sure you have enough water to fight it.’”