VIDEO: Flames rose with the sun Sunday morning. The city of Longview was quiet on Sunday, moments before 6:47 a.m. when Longview Fire Department responded to a structure fire.
Seven a.m. calls for a shift change at the station and with a call coming in 13 minutes before that, it’s a good thing the incoming crew arrived at 6:30. As one 28 hour shift ends, the next group had minutes before clocking in and heading out.
“All of a sudden tailwinds went off and dispatch told us there was a house on fire. So that changes your gameplan,” Battalion Chief Josh Tanner said. “We’re always ready to respond to anything at a moment’s notice. Quickly everybody grabbed their gear, threw it on. The off-going crew jumped off, the ongoing crew jumped on and headed to the fire.”
Firefighters maintained and extinguished the fire. The scene was secured according to protocol and once the work was done, the crews packed up their gear to head back to the station — but the job wasn’t done.
“Firefighting is a team’s work,” Chief Tanner said. “So from the moment we fight fires and put fires out, to coming back to the station and getting things ready, it takes a team. There’s a lot of work involved. Fortunately, everybody chips in and helps out and it goes pretty quick.”
