By Juan Montoya
Have you heard the one about the three-alarm fire in downtown Brownsville that happens many years ago?
Bear with me.
A fire alarm came from a used clothing warehouse downtown that was threatening other buildings. Firefighters determined that the fire merited a three-alarm designation because the fire fire was in full bloom. They sent out calls for mutual assistance from brother departments in the valley and into Matamoros.
The other units got there, sized it up, and determined that there was nothing they could do because the fire was fully involved. They feared the fire could spread into nearby buildings.
At about that time, the unit from Matamoros came racing across the bridge, turned toward the warehouse district and didn't hesitate for a moment before driving straight into the inferno. The Matamoros firefighters jumped out, pulled out the hoses from their tanker amid the flames and doused the fire. A great cheer went up and all admired the courage of the traga lumbres.
The Brownsville city council gave them a resolution and presented them with a $10,000 check in gratitude for their quick action that prevented a greater conflagration that could have destroyed other buildings.
"What are you going to do with the money?" they were asked.
"The first thing we're going to do, señores," said the jefe of the bomberos from Matamoros," is to fix the brakes of the tanker."
About two weeks ago, a female fire fighter was handed the wheel of a fire engine at the main fire station on Adams St. Perhaps it was the power of the engine under her, or the size of the machine that alarmed her, no one knows. But what is known is that she lost control of the engine, hurled across the street and crashed into the storefront of local segunda. (see graphic)
The building's owner was understandably tight-lipped about the details concerning the negotiations for damages with the city, only saying that they were talking.
But maybe she should get a guarantee from the chief that the department makes sure that the brakes are working on the fire engines just in case...
3 comments:
The firefighter who was driving was extremely lucky that there were no pedestrains at the time of crash, otherwise it could been a fatal accident. How come this accident did not come out on the herald?
St. Charles??? It was on E. Adams Street.
Juan,
The main station is on Adams.....not St. Charles station!
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