TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Local fire agencies in the Magic Valley are concerned for future large structure fires after the damaged caused by the Radio Rondevoo Fire.
After the Twin Falls Fire Department was alerted to a structure fire in downtown Twin Falls, Battalion Chief Mitchell Brooks said he quickly knew this was a larger fire than normal and he needed to call upon other Magic Valley fire departments.
“This fire right here probably was in the top 5 as far as magnitude. This is the first time in my 23 years that I have seen four ladder trucks operating on the same fire in Twin Falls,” said Brooks.
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Brooks was most worried about the potential spread of the fire.
“That was one of my biggest concerns as well was not only the structure that’s involved but with the wind driven fire like it was you know there was potential for this to hop over on the other side of main street. We didn’t have enough on duty to handle such an incident if it extended,” he said.
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Though the Twin Falls Fire Department relies on other agencies, Brooks feels the Magic Valley departments are stronger when they work cohesively.
"Twin Falls just bringing a whole bunch of firefighters on take care of ourselves, but we are really looking outward. How can we help them, how can they help us,” said Brooks.
Plus the addition of the new regional training center coming to Twin Falls will give local agencies the hands on training they need to fight fires like the one that they saw at Radio Rondevoo.
"It's going to make these incidents such as the Radio Rondevoo fire way more efficient,” he said.
Brooks expressed his thanks to the Twin Falls Police department for helping with security and to the Twin Falls School district for allowing them to use their building as a support facility.
"It was a collective effort to stop this fire," said Brooks.
