A Whitesboro police officer’s quick actions helped to minimize the damage of a small apartment fire during the holidays.
Around 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 30, a woman called 911 to report a smoke alarm going off at the Brookhollow Apartment complex in Whitesboro. Dispatch called Officer Lew Hatch, who works the night shift and was on duty that night, and asked if he could look into the situation.
“I was right there – I mean, right there -- so I said sure,” Hatch said.
He drove through the parking lot and, at first, didn’t see anything unusual. Then he noticed one of the apartment doors wide open and he could see smoke inside. He parked his car, contacted dispatch by radio and went to investigate.
Hatch banged on the door and discovered a man inside who had fallen asleep while smoking in bed. The cigarette had caught the bedding and foam mattress on fire, and the man was dousing the flames with a glass of tea. Smoke filled the room.
Hatch helped the man put out the fire and used fans to dissipate the smoke. He contacted the Whitesboro Fire Department (WFD) to let them know what was going on. The WFD came to assess the situation and confirm that the fire was completely out.
“When I first saw the open door and the smoke, I was ready to start knocking on doors to get people out of there,” Hatch said. “Luckily it didn’t come to that.”
Officer Hatch is one of two night shift officers for the Whitesboro Police Department (WPD). He works Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 5 p.m.-3 a.m.
“I’m a big believer in the idea that God works in mysterious ways,” Hatch said. “I was exactly where I needed to be at the right time.”
Fires in a multi-level apartment complex are among the most dangerous residential fires, according to a study by Iowa State University. Although a fire can start in one unit, flames and duct work, between interior walls, and up stairwells.
This endgangers other units and creates an opportunity for an even larger structure fire.
The WFD was grateful to Hatch for his quick action.
“The apartments at Brookhollow present a tactical issue for the Whitesboro Fire Department,” WFD Fire Chief Steve Pinkston said. “The design only has one fire hydrant in that complex. We were fortunate that the Whitesboro Police Department responded first and gave a size-up for the fire in that apartment. Minimal damage occurred but a working smoke detector woke the citizen up – it could have been worse. Fire extinguishers and working smoke detectors save lives.”
Hatch has approximately 25 years of experience in law enforcement (23 of which were spent at the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office). He has worked for WPD for nearly three years.
