The first fire unit arrived an hour after the lightning strike. Courtesy photo

By Joni Simon
Contributing Writer

Fair Oaks Ranch city officials say they’re taking action in response to issues brought forth after lightning struck a residence in the 30,000 block of Ovaro Circle June 21, causing $650,000 in damages to that structure.

Specifically, they’re looking at ways to improve radio communications between agencies. They’ll also take action to retrain operators in proper transfer protocol and retrain firefighters on obtaining maximum water flow.

According to witness Allan Kudla, the lightning strike occurred at 4:21 p.m. while he was golfing.

“The storm passed and the golfers waited about 25 minutes, then resumed their game of golf,” Fair Oaks Ranch City Administrator Roy Thomas stated in his report.

The golfers smelled smoke around 4:46 p.m.

“He said they went over to the house. He and Robert Sigman entered through the front French doors that were unlocked,” Thomas wrote. “They were trying to save the dogs.”

According to the official city report, the men attempted to go upstairs, but it was too hot. Kudla and Sigman reentered the house several times, but found no dogs.

“He said they tried to use the garden hose to fight the fire but there wasn’t enough pressure to get up to the roof,” Thomas said. “He didn’t call 911, because he didn’t know the address or the street name. He said that the Marshal on the golf course called 911 after he figured out the address.”

During a debriefing session June 25, Leon Springs Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Gentry Cooley told city officials the fire had spread to the attic by the time Boerne Dispatch was notified of the structure fire at 5:03 p.m. The estimated time between the actual lighting strike and the arrival of the first fire unit on-scene was 45 minutes to an hour, he said.

Thomas stated that on Wednesday, July 9, he received a call from Eddie Taylor with Bexar Metro 911. He had completed his investigation into the routing of the 911 call.

“The call did in fact hit the Sprint tower and was routed correctly to Bexar County. The Bexar County operator was confused as the caller wasn’t sure of the address,” said Thomas.

“The operator made a mistake and transferred the call to Blanco County. Blanco did transfer the call to Boerne.

“There was an approximate delay of one minute and nine seconds. Once the call was received at Boerne, it was dispensed properly.”

In one action, officials agreed that the PSAP manager will retrain the operator to make sure that he understands the proper transfer protocol. Bexar Metro will add additional buttons on the console to reduce the likelihood of similar errors occurring.

The Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department’s response time was three minutes, while the Leon Springs Volunteer Fire Department’s response time was 14 minutes, according officials. The agencies have agreed to work to improve radio communications between them.

Another issue was the loss of water pressure experienced by the LSVFD, which began at 5:37 p.m.

“Assistant Chief Cooley found that the first fire units on scene had not opened the hydrant completely,” Thomas stated in his report. “He opened the valve and full pressure resumed.”

As a result, Assistant Chief Cooley and Steven Fried will retrain volunteer firefighters on the proper procedure for obtaining maximum water flow from fire hydrants, Thomas said.

During the debriefing session, Cooley said the LSVFD didn’t need all the fire apparatus that was on scene to fight the fire, but it did need the manpower that came with the apparatus due to the intense heat and the need to replenish oxygen. The firefighters were rotated.

They broke windows with rocks in an effort to ventilate the fire and give them better access to fight the fire.

Cooley said he used a saw to cut open the garage door to gain entry to remove vehicles. Officials were unable to reach the homeowners, but a neighbor advised Cooley where the keys were located, so that the vehicles could be removed from the garage to reduce the risk of explosion.

The Shavano Park Fire Department as well as fire units from Grey Forest and Bexar/Bulverde also responded to the scene.