The Woodlands, Texas (Montgomery County Monitor) – Just before 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning, The Woodlands Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire call on the second level of the parking garage adjacent to the Waterway Marriott in The Woodlands, Texas.
Engine 101 responded to the fire and upon further investigation requested truck 101 also be dispatched.In just a few short minutes firefighters on-scene called for a full commercial fire response, which brought in additional manpower and equipment.
After firefighters gained control of the fire, radio traffic indicated a total of eight vehicles were either directly involved in the fire or suffered exposure damage. Radio traffic also indicated the garage suffered structural damage from the fire.
No injuries were reported.
Here again is a perfect example of how horrible The Woodlands Fire Department Dispatch (Firecom) is. The dispatch center was staffed with dispatchers who have less then six months experience the night of this call and no supervision. This call was dispatched as car fire in a hotel parking garage and the dispatcher sent one engine, this call should have been a commercial box from the start. The Woodlands Fire Department Dispatch is plagued with problems such as high turnover rates, poor training and HORRABLE management. Something needs to be done before they kill someone.
I agree with JR. My husband and I are both volenteers for a fire department in montgomey county and firecomm has giving us bad addresses or no information at all about what we are responding to and we also have alot of problams hearing them on the radio. I did not know that firecomm was part of the woodlands. I hope they get better dispatchers soon, i pray that nobody gets hurt