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Thursday, March 22, 2001
Burning barn awakens sleeping couple
Firefighters determine what started fire that destroyed the barn, pair's possessions
By Venessa Santos-Garza
Caller-Times

Paul Iverson/Caller-Times

Corpus Christi firefighters extinguish a blaze started in a barn on Holly Road. The fire destroyed the barn and injured a woman who was in the building when the fire started. Officials do not know what caused the blaze.

A Corpus Christi woman got a rude awakening Wednesday.
   Cassandra Bridgford, 31, said she and her boyfriend were asleep in a barn at 3401 Holly Road when she awoke about 9 a.m. to find her posterior on fire.
   "I woke up because my butt was on fire," Bridgford said. "I got up and was running around trying to put it out."
   Bridgford said she and her boyfriend, Larry Swisher, fought the blaze but were unable to put it out. All of their possessions and the barn were destroyed in the fire.
   Fire officials said Bridgford had minor burns on her right arm and buttocks but refused medical care.
   It was unclear why the pair had been sleeping in the barn. Fire officials shifted through the rubble but were unable Wednesday to determine what caused the fire.
   The morning turned out to be a hot one for firefighters, as well.

David Pellerin/Caller-Times

City work crews dig around a gas line that ruptured Wednesday morning on Kostoryz Road near Saratoga Blvd. Workers began repairing a 6-inch gash to the line about the same time an unrelated barn fire was discovered on Holly Road.

   District Chief Michael Hernandez said he was on his way to a gas line break at the corner of Kostoryz Road and Saratoga Boulevard when he saw the smoke plume from the burning barn.
   "It was not only busy but it was unusual," Hernandez said.
   "To have two situations at the same time within such a close radius of each other. It was a lot of running around for our guys but that is what we get paid to do."
   Hernandez said the fire was difficult to contain because it was about 500 feet from Holly with no roads leading to it.
   Firefighters had trouble setting up to battle the blaze.
   "We were also concerned because we had received reports that there was a possibility that live ammunition was stored in the barn," he said.
   Bomb technicians looked over the scene but did not find any shells, said Police Chief Pete Alvarez.
   As firefighters attempted to subdue the blaze in the collapsed barn, others stood watch while crews from the City of Corpus Christi Gas Department attempted to repair a 6-inch gash to a 10-inch gas line at the corner of Kostoryz and Saratoga.
   "Initially we were worried that there was a fire so close by, but it was far enough away that it was not a concern," Hernandez said.
   Ron Jongema, gas department safety coordinator, said a contractor working on the road at the intersection punctured the line with a piece of heavy equipment.
   "We were already on the scene before the contractor had a chance to notify us," Jongema said.
   "We had it valved off in less than 10 minutes."
   Jongema said any time gas escapes from a line, an alarm lets crews know that there is a problem and the department's emergency response crew can respond quickly.
   There was no loss of service to residents in the area or any danger to people or property, Jongema said.

Staff writer Venessa Santos-Garza can be reached at 886-3752 or by e-mail at santosv@caller.com.

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