(Geronimo) — Guadalupe County fire officials are applauding what they say were all the right steps taken during Monday’s AC unit fire above the main office at Navarro High School. Bryce Houlton, Guadalupe County assistant fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, says it was a definite team effort led by not only area fire departments but also by the Navarro ISD and the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after 5 p.m. Monday, Houlton says local fire and emergency response teams were called out to the campus following reports of smoke contained to the front office area. He says fire crews were able to extinguish the fire – preventing it from causing any more damage.
Houlton says after discovering the issue, every element to keep students and staff was put into action.
“The school district staff did a really great job along with the sheriff’s office deputies that were on scene. They were helping make sure that everybody was out of the building. There were minimal students left in the building and minimal staff, and we were just making sure that everybody was aware of what was going on and trying to get everybody out. One thing we also ran into is of course, a lot of the extra-curricular activities were ending around at that same time and a lot of the parents, I think, used the front parking lot of the high school to pick up their kids so we were having to shuffle parents and the remaining students to the junior high parking lot to make sure they were safely reunited with their families – making sure everybody was picked up and the sheriff’s office went and talked to every other campus making sure that they were aware of what was going on,” said Houlton.
Initially, many questioned the intensity of the incident after witnessing a handful of fire assistance arriving at the scene. However, Houlton says fire protocol ensures that all possible assistance is made available for structures such as schools.
“Any kind of school or any kind of large facility, we call that a commercial building whether its manufacturing like CMC Steel or Republic Plastics or like a school so it’s just because of the large complexity of the building. So, a normal structure fire in the county is about three fire engines and a commercial structure fire alarm assignment would be anywhere from five to six engines and also a ladder truck if available because of the multi-story building. Better safe than sorry is the best way to put it,” said Houlton.
In a letter to its Panther families, the district shared its appreciation and recognized all those who were on hand to assist.
Sincere gratitude was extended to the Guadalupe County Fire Rescue with assistance from Geronimo Volunteer Fire Department, Seguin, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Lake Dunlap Fire Departments. The district also recognized the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office for its swift response and unwavering support in ensuring the safety of the school community.
Luckily, district officials received the go ahead to operate the school the following day. Meanwhile, contractors have been called in to begin repairs and to begin the assessment of the damaged areas.