Firefighters fight more than fires during the winter months

ALAMO, Tenn. — A vacant home went up in flames Thursday night in Alamo.

Our cameras were there as firefighters battled not just the fire, but the cold at a home on Park Street.

“The ground can freeze and then you have to worry about people slipping and falling,” Milan Assistant Fire Chief Michael Estes said.

Estes explained how hard it can be battling fires in cold weather.

“During the cold, it is a lot like during the summer heat. Our guys still have to rehab when they come out. Instead of getting in a cool spot they will get in a warm spot,” Estes said.

As for Thursday night’s fire, investigators say they are still searching for how it started. Alamo’s fire chief says it started just before 11 p.m. Thursday, but say it started in the back of the house.

Officials also say they had to come back to the scene because the fire started to rekindle again.

“The mental state of fire fighting is the same, the only difference is in the winter, we have to worry about the ice forming from the water,” Estes said.

Estes says his crew knows first-hand what it’s like because they were out battling both the cold and a fire Tuesday.

Our cameras were there as they took on a fire at a house in Medina.

Estes says the water on the ground started to freeze.

“With it being so cold you get a lot of ice. The trucks will spill water on the roads and a lot of time we have to call in TDOT  to bring in some salt to put on the roads,” Estes said.

Everyone made it out safely, except for four pets who officials say died in the fire.

Estes says no matter what the weather it’s a dangerous job.

The cause of both fires are still under investigation.