Frisco Enterprise > News
Frisco deals with fires and damage from storms
Staff photo -- A fire rages at a local house on Wednesday morning.
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
The Frisco Fire Department fought multiple fires following a series of storms that began Tuesday night. The storm, which continued early Wednesday morning and lasted through Thursday, also caused home damage for several Frisco residents.
Frisco Fire Chief Mack Borchardt said the storms caused two major structure fires Wednesday morning and two smaller fires, resulting in minimal damage.
"The structure fires had roughly $350,000 worth of damages on one of structures with another $100,000 for content [destroyed in the fire]," Borchardt said. "On the other structure there was about a $250,000 loss. Neither structure was completely destroyed. We were able to save parts of the structures and the properties adjacent to them."
Prior to the fires, Frisco saw strong wind gusts that briefly exceeded 70 miles per hour, Borchardt said. These gusts caused additional damage that resulted in minor damage including fences that were torn down and trees that were uprooted and thrown in streets and across yards.
While the Frisco Fire Department was battling fires in Frisco, the Plano and McKinney fire departments were facing similar issues. Three structure fires occurred simultaneously in McKinney -- two of which were on the same street.
"Having two working structure fires at the same time for us has happened [before], but it's certainly an indicator of a significant amount of lightning," Borchardt said. "As we were working those fires, McKinney was working some similar fires, as was Plano. The lightning had created a significant amount of fires -- it was a severe thunderstorm."
The fire department reported no injuries, Borchardt said, and no animals were reported injured or killed.
In addition to fires, Frisco residents were also faced with power outages. Borchardt stated the power outages lasted a few hours, but utility companies responded appropriately.
"We had -- I'm guessing -- some 800 people without power for a few hours, which is also an indicator of strong winds," he said. "That may have been secondary to the structure fires -- that probably affected the largest number of people. It was my observation that with the amount of damage that was seen throughout the area that utility companies got power back in a timely fashion."
The Frisco Fire Department is continuing to monitor weather patterns, and is preparing to face similar issues in the coming days, should they arise. The potential for weather-related damage and fires will likely be the primary focus of the department during that time, Borchardt said.
Borchardt recommends keeping flashlights on hand incase of future power outages, as well as battery-powered radios and weather radios. While such equipment will help, Borchardt emphasizes the need for residents to keep an eye on the weather.
"People need to be mindful that this season we appear to be experiencing some significant weather events and be alert," Borchardt said. "Just be aware of your surroundings. There weren't really any warnings of the storm's severity on Wednesday morning."
Frisco residents have responded properly to the recent weather issues, and Borchardt lauded citizens for their vigilance.
"I understand there was a lot of damage and it's always devastating to have a fire at your home," he said. "The people in those fires did exactly the right thing -- they got out of the house and didn't put themselves in any danger to save property. And the rest of our community responded well, which is probably why we didn't have any injures. People here do a good job of watching the weather, and they should be commended for that -- it helps make our town safer."
Frisco Fire Chief Mack Borchardt said the storms caused two major structure fires Wednesday morning and two smaller fires, resulting in minimal damage.
"The structure fires had roughly $350,000 worth of damages on one of structures with another $100,000 for content [destroyed in the fire]," Borchardt said. "On the other structure there was about a $250,000 loss. Neither structure was completely destroyed. We were able to save parts of the structures and the properties adjacent to them."
Prior to the fires, Frisco saw strong wind gusts that briefly exceeded 70 miles per hour, Borchardt said. These gusts caused additional damage that resulted in minor damage including fences that were torn down and trees that were uprooted and thrown in streets and across yards.
While the Frisco Fire Department was battling fires in Frisco, the Plano and McKinney fire departments were facing similar issues. Three structure fires occurred simultaneously in McKinney -- two of which were on the same street.
"Having two working structure fires at the same time for us has happened [before], but it's certainly an indicator of a significant amount of lightning," Borchardt said. "As we were working those fires, McKinney was working some similar fires, as was Plano. The lightning had created a significant amount of fires -- it was a severe thunderstorm."
The fire department reported no injuries, Borchardt said, and no animals were reported injured or killed.
In addition to fires, Frisco residents were also faced with power outages. Borchardt stated the power outages lasted a few hours, but utility companies responded appropriately.
"We had -- I'm guessing -- some 800 people without power for a few hours, which is also an indicator of strong winds," he said. "That may have been secondary to the structure fires -- that probably affected the largest number of people. It was my observation that with the amount of damage that was seen throughout the area that utility companies got power back in a timely fashion."
The Frisco Fire Department is continuing to monitor weather patterns, and is preparing to face similar issues in the coming days, should they arise. The potential for weather-related damage and fires will likely be the primary focus of the department during that time, Borchardt said.
Borchardt recommends keeping flashlights on hand incase of future power outages, as well as battery-powered radios and weather radios. While such equipment will help, Borchardt emphasizes the need for residents to keep an eye on the weather.
"People need to be mindful that this season we appear to be experiencing some significant weather events and be alert," Borchardt said. "Just be aware of your surroundings. There weren't really any warnings of the storm's severity on Wednesday morning."
Frisco residents have responded properly to the recent weather issues, and Borchardt lauded citizens for their vigilance.
"I understand there was a lot of damage and it's always devastating to have a fire at your home," he said. "The people in those fires did exactly the right thing -- they got out of the house and didn't put themselves in any danger to save property. And the rest of our community responded well, which is probably why we didn't have any injures. People here do a good job of watching the weather, and they should be commended for that -- it helps make our town safer."
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