By Amber Smith – The Ledger

HAINES CITY | Dennis Coder was angry after his home and a mobile home burned last month at his Drift In Resort in rural East Polk County.

His anger was focused at Polk County Fire Services, whose firefighters were unable to put out the flames in time to save his property – including, by his estimate, $500,000 in antique collectibles.

But county fire officials say they did all they could to save the structures, given the lack of water and other problems they faced combatting the blaze that struck June 19.

The nearest fire hydrant is a mile away from the resort, which features eight theme-style cottages and is in a remote area. The resort is still open.

There are many reasons why Coder and others choose to live in the county’s rural areas.

But living farther away from cities and services can sometimes put the resident in peril when it comes to needing emergency help.

“Fire doubles itself every minute,” said Steve Buttermore, Polk County Fire Services battalion chief. “A rural area’s biggest threat is wildfires. It takes a longer response time due to the distance.”

Most rural areas also don’t have fire hydrants. That means fire departments, whether city or county, have to bring the water with them in tanker trucks.

Fire departments are prepared for this, Buttermore said. They can shuttle in tanker trucks, basically water tanks on wheels, and they can use any nearby water source, such as a lake, pond or a swimming pool to get water to the truck.

All city and county fire departments are set up to draft water if needed.

Lake Alfred Fire Chief Roger Pridgen said he can remember having to draft only twice in 20 years.

“It just isn’t something we have to do very often,” Pridgen said.

Departments can also call in mutual aid help from nearby stations and start a convoy of water.

“We can shuttle tankers from the closest water source to the site of the fire,” Buttermore said. “We also have it in our 10-year plan to start using super tankers, which would allow us to carry more water in one truck.”

A tanker truck holds 1,500 gallons of water. A supertanker can hold 3,000 gallons of water.

FIREFIGHTING FORMULA

The rule of thumb in firefighting is one gallon of water is needed to extinguish the heat generated by one pound of burning wood.

There is also a universal formula, called the Iowa Formula, that fire officials use to figure how much water, manpower and equipment is needed to fight a house fire that is fully involved.

By using that formula, for example, fire officials can estimate they will need 192 gallons of water per minute to fight a fire in a 2,400-square-foot house.

Rick Parnell, Polk County Fire Services assistant chief, said when an emergency call, such as a house fire, comes into the county’s communications center, it shows on the computer screen where the call is coming from.

“The system shows us if it is in a rural area, and we can respond accordingly with additional tankers if needed,” Parnell said.

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