Crews were dispatched at 3:49 p.m. to The Flower Mound in the 2500 block of Flower Mound Road to a grass fire, Deputy Chief Brandon Barth said in a news release. No injuries were reported; the response consisted of four fire engines, two ladder trucks, two brush trucks and two ambulances.
Mutual aid brush trucks from the Lewisville Fire Department were also requested and made available.
A closer look
Barth said the call was upgraded to a one-alarm assignment that brought three additional engines, two ladder trucks and two ambulances. Additionally, he said, mutual aid brush trucks from Lewisville also were requested.
Crews contained the fire and remained on scene until 5 p.m. to extinguish hot spots, Barth said. Some damage was reported to fences, yards and a deck, but no damage occurred to homes.
The fire’s cause was traced to a construction crew saw-cutting rebar along Flower Mound Road, Barth said.
“Due to the high heat and lack of rain this summer, it literally takes a spark to cause a grass fire,” he said in the release. “It’s imperative for people to be mindful and to have a water source on site if conducting work that could generate sparks.”
An additional release noted following an investigation, Flower Mound officials determined a town-contracted construction crew sparked the fire while cutting rebar using a K12 circular saw near the southeast corner of The Flower Mound.
“At this time, the fire has been ruled accidental,” the release stated. “Town officials are working with the construction company on next steps, including responding to insurance claims from property owners who were affected by the fire.”
Zooming out
Minor damage from the fire was contained to a small area of cedar fencing surrounding The Flower Mound, the fencing behind two homes off Warwick Avenue and a deck to one home off Warwick Avenue, the release stated.
In the release, Flower Mound fire Chief Paul Henley credited multiple factors for his department’s success in getting the fire under control so quickly, including the "swift response from firefighters and previously planned controlled burns the department has conducted at The Flower Mound."
“Because we’ve done this so many times before, it was like calling a familiar play from our playbook,” Henley said in the release. “The incident commander on scene already knew exactly where he should be placing his resources and how he should be using those resources. Our firefighters knew how to contain the fire quickly and safely, because they’ve done it in a controlled scenario many times before.”
Henley also credited the Flower Mound Foundation, the nonprofit aimed at preserving the historic site, for creating defensible space between The Flower Mound and the surrounding structures. This space assisted the fire department in stopping the spread to nearby homes and other structures, the release stated.
