Quite a few resources, including brush engines, were dispatched to a structure fire at the Humane Society north of Hot Springs, South Dakota today. In the windy conditions there was probably a fear that the fire could spread into the vegetation and then threaten additional structures. However the Hot Springs fire department was able to confine the fire to the structure, which appeared from a distance to be a total loss.
The dozens of dogs kept at the facility were pretty excited by all of the unusual activity.
Below is a photo taken today that gives you an idea of the wind conditions.
All photos were taken by Bill Gabbert.
where are the dogs being held? we are looking for a small dog to adopt.
Most of the dogs are still at the Humane Society facility just north of Hot Springs on Hwy. 385 across from the radio station.
Working structure fire, dry conditions, winds blowing, last week several wildland fires in area, it appears that if this fire escapes the structure it has room to run. Where was the closest air tanker and was it dispatched? Obvious now that an air tanker wasn’t need. I’m glad to see the department using foam. GOOD STOP!
Yes, Johnny, it was a good stop. The fire department has a compressed air foam system (CAFS) engine which comes in handy when water is scarce, as it was in this case with the nearest hydrant being about 1/2 mile away. An article on Wildfire Today from 2009 has some photos of some of Hot Springs’ engines. The last one on the page, spraying water from a front bumper-mounted monitor, may be their CAFS engine…not sure though. Or it could be one of the engines in the last picture on THIS page.