A grass fire ignited on Otoe Road recently sparked a quick response from the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department and concerned area residents who worked diligently to get the blaze under control.
On Aug. 30, at 1:50 p.m., first responders received the report of a grass fire at Taylor’s Auto Salvage on Otoe Road, posing a threat to vehicles and structures.
“It mainly burnt some grass, and there was an old vehicle out there that kind of burned down,” said AVFD Chief Troy Shoemaker. “How that started was, there was a gentleman who was going to load up a car that he was purchasing for parts, or whatever the case may be, and the catalytic converter on the pickup that he had, he left the vehicle running, and it started some tall grass on fire and burned some grass around there.”
Shoemaker said firefighters were on scene for roughly an hour and a half, working to control the fire.
“We had five fire trucks and an ambulance out there,” Shoemaker said. “There were 12 of us at that fire. It was a little west of town, and just like a grass fire that happens anywhere out in the rural area, there was farmers and ranchers that were already out there trying to control it. They did a pretty job, and then we got there and we ensured that it was extinguished. It went better than expected based off of the dispatch information and what we were seeing on the way out there. It worked out really well.”
He said they estimated property loss due to the fire at $2,000.
