Block Long Blaze
Fire strikes cotton modules at FCEC Hillje gin
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com

As El Campo volunteer firemen raced to the scene of several cotton modules on fire at Farmers Co-op of El Campo's Hillje Gin, assistance was quickly summoned from Louise, Danevang and Wharton. More than 30 modules were affected by the Friday morning blaze, but damage was expected to be minimal. L-N Photo by Shannon Crabtree

More than 30 cotton modules were aflame Friday morning as firefighters from four departments raced to Farmers Co-op of El Campo's Hillje gin.

But with the quick response, a caravan of water tankers and dozens of men assisting, the damage may actually be minimal.

"It won't be much," FCEC General Manager Jimmy Roppolo said as he scrambled around the burning rows helping with hoses and watching for flames running across the grass.

"One other time we had 30 or so (on fire). You just scrape off the burned stuff and gin the rest," he said. "It won't be so bad."

An average module in Wharton County contains about 15 bales of cotton at 480 pounds per bale although amounts can vary widely.

County Extension Agent Peter McGuill said a rough average price for cotton would be 51 cents per pound, meaning the loss would have been around $110,000 had the modules been completely destroyed.

L-N Photo by Shannon Crabtree Limiting Damage El Campo firefighters along with those from three other departments raced to the Farmers Co-op Hillje gin Friday morning to battle more than 30 cotton modules on fire. The flames were smothered as quickly as possible to mitigate the damage.

Crews from El Campo, Louise and Danevang surrounded the rows of burning modules, working hard to ensure that didn't happen.

But the fire had a head start.

Rolling plumes of white smoke could be seen from West Jackson Street in El Campo as firefighters raced to the fire.

El Campo Fire Chief Jimmy George Jr. was first on the scene, but at that point, two rows of modules - more than 30 were already burning.

El Campo, Wharton, Louise and Danevang units were used to ferry water from El Campo to a temporary holding tank set up on the site. FCEC also sum- summoned its own tank trucks to add to the supply.

No estimates on the amount of water used was available by presstime Friday.

Late morning temperatures were mild, hovering near 80, making the job of firefighting slightly easier than during the peak of summer, but still exhausting.

At 11:45 a.m., while still battling the FCEC fire, another call rang out summoning El Campo firefighters to a grass fire at the far north end of the county.

Dispatched to Hwy. 71 North at CR 476, Garwood volunteers scrambled to assist as still more manpower was requested in Hillje.

It would be much later in the day when firefighters would leave the scene.

Once doused, Roppolo said, the modules will be watched for several days for possible re-ignition. Only after co-op crews are sure it is safe will they be ginned.