Joaquin VFD's Report for the Week of April 25 Includes Explosive Call

May 2, 2022 - During week of April 25th to May 1st the Joaquin Volunteer Fire Department responded to one call. Despite being the sole call for the week it had all the excitement necessary to make up for it.

On Monday, April 25th, the JVFD was dispatched to a disposal well on fire on FM 139. One of the tanks on the site had been struck by lightning and sparked what seemed to be a minor fire. The Joaquin VFD responded to the call with help from DeSoto Fire District 1, and attempted to put foam on the burning tanks.

A representative of the site warned everyone that one of the tanks was about to explode, and with little time to react everyone on the site moved back as far as possible. Moments later the tank exploded and flew several feet into the air and landed on power lines in the nearby pasture. At this point any chance of extinguishing the fire was gone and members of the JVFD and DFD1 set up a perimeter outside the site. A second tank also exploded but it was not clear if it also went airborne or not.

From their safe distance the first responders utilized a drone provided by Precinct 3 Constable Roy Cheatwood to measure the temperature of the third and final burning tank. Once it was determined that the tank was under the minimum explosive temperature it was decided that the worst of the danger had passed. A few members of the JVFD stood by for a few more hours before clearing the scene to ensure the fire did not get out of control again.

This fire went from under control to out-of-hand very quickly and the JVFD is beyond thankful that no one was harmed in the process. With that, the Joaquin VFD hopes everyone has a safe and fire-free week going forward.