Ranger Station Fire Suppressed

Ranger Ryan Gallagher and park VIP Jim Klassen heard a smoke detector alarm going off in the Cow Creek Ranger Station on the morning of March 3rd. They also saw smoke coming from the engine bay and a heavier cloud of smoke emitting from the slightly ajar lavatory door, and smelled the strong odor of burning plastic. Klassen evacuated the ranger station and fee collection offices while Gallagher put the fire out with an extinguisher. Other rangers arrived on scene and pulled the park’s fire engine and ambulance out of the bay. The fire originated in an overhead exhaust fan in the center of the lavatory ceiling. Investigation showed more damage in the fan ballasts within the ceiling. All damage was contained within the small add-on lavatory. The early detection and quick response by Gallagher and Klassen prevented substantial damage to this structure, which currently houses the park’s primary structural fire engine, ambulance, SAR and wildland fire caches, and the primary offices for the park’s law enforcement and fee collection operations. The station is a pre-fabricated metal structure built in the late 1980’s, intended to be a short term solution to the storage of the park’s engine, ambulance and other emergency equipment.