Flower Mound Fire Department personnel have been busy the past week with several deployments around the state.
First, Captain Wade Woody was deployed with a brush truck to the Eastland area on Friday to assist with the massive Eastland Complex fires, which total over 54,500 acres in size and are 75% contained, as of Wednesday night, according to the Lone Star State Incident Management Team. Woody’s strike team remains in Eastland to help put out hot spots, according to FMFD spokesman Brandon Barth.
Captain Aaron Moore was deployed on Sunday to South Texas, around Fredericksburg and Blanco, to assist with potential wildfires. Moore’s strike team put out a small fire near Blanco and they are still standing by because of all the red flag warnings in the area, Barth said.
Both of those deployments were part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), a state program that utilizes local firefighters from around the state to provide aid when a fire — or other natural disaster, such as a hurricane — is too much for the local authorities. The state reimburses the town for the deployed firefighters’ overtime, as well as overtime required to cover their shifts.
Additionally, a large FMFD team was deployed with the department’s AMBUS on Monday to Jacksboro to assist with the tornado response, as part of the state-run Emergency Medical Task Force. Captains Greg Cherry, Kirk Lambert and Jonathan Castro, along with firefighters Blake Brown and Wes Russell, were there to help transport patients in case of any hospital damage or water or power issues, or to set up a mobile aid station.
“Fortunately, their services weren’t immediately needed, and they stayed until Tuesday afternoon and demobilized,” Barth said. “We continue to stand ready, not only our residents but for residents around the state in their times of need.”
.png)
.jpg)
