When asking a friend how their work day is going we often get the reply, “Man, I’ve been putting out fires all day!”

    Of course that is an analogy to a busy day but in the case of Lauderdale County volunteer firemen it is an accurate statement. They have been answering a large number of calls pertaining to brush and grass fires in addition to their “normal” load of structure fires, missing people, and car accidents. It has gotten to the point to where Lauderdale County Fire Service Coordinator Allan Dover is thinking about some changes.

    “I’m seriously thinking about going to the Mississippi Forestry Commission and getting their advice,” Dover said. “Maybe we will have to institute the burn ban until the weather changes.”

    The weather pattern for the past two weeks has been unseasonably warm, which is a nice change from the equally unseasonably cold winter the area has suffered. But higher temperatures, lower humidity and blustery winds have done much to dry out the area. Couple that with the desire of most residents to burn off their winter debris and you have the recipe for brush fires.

    On Saturday, volunteer departments responded to six calls of grass or brush fires. On Sunday that number almost doubled to 10. In all, 11 of the 19 departments were called out.

    “You cannot set a fire on windy days like we’ve had and expect to control it,” Dover said. “Even if you stay with the fire, winds can pick up those embers and carry them further than your water source. And as dry as the grass and brush is, a small fire can turn into a flamethrower in the blink of an eye.”

    At about 2 p.m. Monday, volunteer firemen and equipment responded to a brush fire that broke out on Wildcat Road north of Collinsville. Collinsville and Martin men and equipment including brush trucks were called out to first try to contain the fire and then to put out the hot spots. At one point the firefighters were trying to save a farm tractor from becoming a victim of the flames.

    Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Jackson said Monday no measurable precipitation is expected until Thursday night and even then the chances are placed at 30 percent. They said warm temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds to more than 30 mph should continue.

    To put these wind gusts into perspective, an F0 tornado generates wind speeds of 40 to 72 mph. A tropical depression is categorized as a storm system with winds up to 38 mph.

    Stanley Lucky, chief of the Bailey VF&R, said even though Lauderdale County is not under a burn ban, it should be. He said something most people don’t understand is what wind does to the landscape and how it influences a fire.

    “Fires can move quickly and damage or destroy someone else’s property,” Lucky said. “Winds can also be unpredictable moving the fire all over the place. They are hard to fight and take a lot of manpower and equipment.”

    Manpower and equipment are things many departments don’t have during the daylight hours when most of their members are working at their paying jobs. Lucky said a 50-foot section of fire hose costs about $200. He said it isn’t hard at all while fighting brush fires to burn a hole in one or snag it on something sharp — like barbed wire fences.

    Lucky said even vehicles can be overcome and destroyed by fires that change directions on a dime. He said he had to once stop fighting a brush fire to pull his hose back to the brush truck. The fire was burning underneath the truck. Luckily, there weren’t any stray gas fumes or a gas tank leak.

    Another negative aspect of fighting brush fires that for the most part are preventable is there are many documented cases where structure fires or traffic accidents have occurred while volunteers are fighting brush fires. In many of those cases manpower and equipment from other fire districts within the Lauderdale County have to cover the call. Also, each call costs the department in fuel, and depreciation of the equipment deployed.