In the aftermath of a pair of structure fires in the city of Cassville, some hotspots need dousing.

Last Wednesday, a home on Mill Street was destroyed by a large blaze that grew large and quickly. Accidentally started by a fire pit or grill in the backyard of the property, within just a few minutes — aided by trees, debris and combustibles nearby — thick clouds of black smoke filled the sky over the Cassville square.

From the bay window of the Cassville Democrat office, it was clear there was a structure fire, and a big one. In such close proximity, I dropped what I was doing and headed to the source. I arrived just after 3:40 p.m., ahead of any fire apparatus responding to a call that had been dispatched by Barry County E9-1-1 at 3:26 p.m.

Exeter Fire District crews were first on scene, shortly followed by Cassville. By the time crews arrived, the backyard was a wall of flames 10 feet high, and homes on both sides of the property where the fire began were also starting to go up, as well. 

Explosions from propane tanks and what sounded like ammunition in the home added to the chaos of the scene. Natural gas meter failures at the adjacent houses made a bad situation worse and prolonged the battle, which was not cleared until nearly 8 p.m., with the main structure a total loss and the adjacent structures suffering significant damage. 

In the aftermath, nasty comments and misinformation made a bad situation worse. Numerous people were quick to label the blaze as a result of a meth lab, assumptions that were horribly inaccurate and insensitive to people who had just lost everything in their home, including multiple pets.

The only saving grace for those folks’ comments is that they were largely outnumbered by others offering prayers and many asking what they could do to support those affected. There’s a few bad apples in every bunch, but you still hate to see people being rude for no good reason.

Beyond those offering ill-mannered speculation, some others were quick to point fingers at the Cassville Fire Protection District for its response time and the fact Cassville crews were not the first on the scene.

Before we delve into that, there are some kudos to award. Fire districts in Barry County work together tremendously well. The auto-mutual aid system they have implemented makes a big difference. In this case, instead of only one district handling the Mill Street fire, seven total fire districts supplied a dozen apparatus and three dozen total crew. That level of response and cooperation is incredible and should not be overlooked.

So, to the big questions: Why did it take Cassville 21 minutes to arrive, and why were they not first?

Both those questions have simple answers and future solutions. Still operating as a volunteer department, Cassville does not have staff at the station gearing up and rolling out when immediately when the bell sounds. In this specific instance, neither the chief or deputy chief happened to be in town at the time. No one can predict when such a fire will occur, and until Cassville hires dedicated staff, unideal response times are to be expected.

However, a better future is on the horizon.

Cassville passed a sales tax last November aimed at improving staffing, facilities and response times. The District received its first payment from the sales tax in June and is expecting to get about $50,000 per month from the tax, upping the annual budget from less $250,000 to $280,000 in property tax revenues annually to around $600,000 from sales taxes.

Yet, as we saw with the Barry County Sheriff’s Office’s law enforcement sales tax, improvements take time. Entities generally spend a year collecting before they start spending — as the Sheriff’s Office did — and the Fire District is no different.

Beholden to a board, Chief Derek Acheson is hoping to make some changes at the turn of the year. Along with Acheson becoming full-time at the District, he aims to have his Deputy Chief Chris Reibert and Training Chief Travis Littler move to part-time at 80 hours per month instead of their current 40, and he hopes to hire three additional part-time staff to man the station at least 8 hours per day.

Ultimately, Acheson wants 24-hour staffing, but to do that, facility improvements must occur first. The current fire station has no sleeping quarters, and facility and staff improvements do not happen overnight.

Last week’s fire was devastating, and uncharacteristically, a second blaze on Monday took another home in the city. No one was at the home on Rainbow Drive when it caught fire, and fortunately, all animals inside were saved by Cassville police who arrived on scene.

The cause of that fire was not available as of presstime this week, so photos and coverage of that blaze will be delayed to the Oct. 21 edition. Hopefully, it will be the last house fire we see for some time.

Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He is a four-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or [email protected].