When a home in the town of Ripon went up in flames, firefighters struggled to get water and faced a slew of other challenges.
In 2019, the house was engulfed before fire crews were on the scene. Although firefighters worked through the night and into the next day, the home ended up being a total loss after the fire reduced it to rubble.
Several factors made the fire difficult to combat, such as the location of the home, the lack of water, the windy weather and more. The fire provided an example of some of the obstacles rural firefighters face every time they combat a blaze outside of city limits. Rural fire departments are confronting a unique set of challenges as they often have to fight fires far away from any fire hydrants and they rely almost exclusively on dedicated paid-on-call volunteers.
According to Ripon Fire Chief Tim Saul, the Ripon Area Fire District (RAFD) is no exception as it too is working to overcome water supply issues outside the city, maintain a strong group of volunteers and attract a younger generation of firefighters.