FIRE DEPARTMENT DELAYED BY STUCK TRUCK - Richards House Total Loss, 'Very Unfortunate Circumstance'

(03/10/2010)

A Big Springs house burned to the ground Tuesday evening, after a fire spread from a nearby camper to the Charlie and Mandee Richards residence. The six members of the Richards family lost everything. A Grantsville fire truck "bellied-up" attempting to make a sharp right hand turn into a drive leading to the burning dwelling, causing a delay of about 30 minutes getting water on the burning structure. Grantsville Fire Chief Craig Gherke said, "This was a very, very unfortunate circumstance for the Richards family and our firemen." Firemen strung long hose lines from Rt. 16 to the structure. "The firemen did everything they could with the situation they were dealt," Gherke said. Tanker trucks from the Smithville and Harrisville VFD had no way around the stuck Grantsville truck. They parked along Route 16 and delivered water into the Grantsville pumper. "The Smithville and Harrisville department's worked with our department through this really bad situation," Gherke said. "We're making every effort to see that this kind of thing doesn't happen again," Gherke concluded.

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