Fire Chief Denounces Response Time Rumor

Sussex Fire Chief Corky Curtis took to the podium on Tuesday at Sussex Village Hall to clear the air about a rumor that had circulated about a recent house fire.
 
On May 18, a fire started in the garage of a ranch home at N62W23675 Sunset Dr. The fire consumed the garage, and a vehicle inside the garage and a truck outside. In all, $130,000 in damage occurred to the home, but the residents made it out safely. However, Curtis fought a different fire of sorts in the wake of the incident.

After the original story about the fire was posted on Patch, one user was quick to comment on the response time. The person, who goes by the name “bn,” claimed to be a neighbor of living next to the house that burned, and he stated the fire department took 15 to 20 minutes to begin putting out the fire.

The user also posted a picture that was said to be taken at 9:35 p.m. while the fire burned. The person also reported hearing Roman Candles going off in the yard at roughly 8:30 p.m., and claimed neighbors called the fire department at 9:04 p.m.  

“The Fire Dept did a very good of getting the fire under control when they arrived, and the whole neighborhood appreciates their hard work. This is just what you get with a volunteer fire department,” Patch user ‘bn’ wrote.

However, Curtis strongly condemned the false rumors circulating online Tuesday.

“I want to state the facts that hopefully you can relay,” Curtis said. “One of the comments made was that it took us 15 to 20 minutes before we started putting the fire out. Another said it took us 25 minutes, and that he took a picture at 9:35 p.m. and there were no fire department vehicles on the scene.”

Curtis said the first call about the fire came into the dispatch center at 9:23 p.m. He used a timeline chart as a visual aid to illustrate the call history, which totaled 10 different calls about the same fire. After the address was determined, firefighters were toned out 1 minute and 23 seconds later. Curtis, who lives near Sunset Drive, was first on the scene at 9:27 p.m.

Then, the first engine arrived on scene 6 minutes and 18 seconds after the first call was received. The fire was controlled within 30 minutes, and the house was saved from the blaze.

“We have some video and pictures of when vehicles were arriving, and we have matched those times with the dispatch times. These times are absolutely correct,” Curtis said.

The owner of the home, Bruce Russell, didn’t have any issues with the response time from the fire department.

“The only thing I will say about the fire is were all fine, still shaken up about it and trying to balance everything with these new adjustments are incredibly tough,” Russell said. “Fire Chief Corky Curtis, his wife and all the firefighters were incredibly quick, informative, helpful and reassuring that everything will be OK. I was really impressed by everyone on his team and the other fire departments that came to help.”