Years of preparation helped battle the Legado Fire.
That Monday, at approximately 1:15 a.m., Prescott Valley Police officers responded to the report of a fire at the under-construction, 685,000-square-foot Legado Luxury Apartments complex on Florentine Road. Police closed nearby roads and began evacuating residents in adjacent apartment buildings. By the time flames were extinguished and all that was left were the damaged concrete of the complex’s parking garage and melted, tangled scaffolding, there was more than $60 million in damages.
As investigations into the fire and other related incidents are ongoing, fire and police personnel are looking back at what went right and what can be improved. What went right was extraordinary, but not unplanned, and at the top of the list is the “exceptional regional cooperation” according to officials, between local fire agencies, law enforcement and the business community. A few days of snow and rain before and during the fire also contributed to the outcome of containment including no injuries or deaths.
Immediately after the blaze was reported, fire and police quickly set up an incident command center in the Findlay Toyota Center parking lot, and the Prescott Regional Communications Center (PRCC) began fielding hundreds of calls while calling in mutual aid.
PVPD expressed the gratitude of all the responding agencies for the communications center’s work. “One single call-taker in the communications center managed more than 133 incoming calls, with an additional 34 Emergency (911) calls, in the early morning hours. An additional four team members were also answering non-emergency and 911 calls, contacting other agencies, and multitasking on various police and fire emergency radio channels. Six other members seamlessly took over during the shift change amid the blazing chaos.”
The Humboldt Unified School District provided shelter for evacuees at the Bradshaw Mountain High School East Campus, with the assistance of the Red Cross. Hotels offered rooms for people displaced by the fire, and people worked together to make sure those in nearby apartments were evacuated. Local ambulance personnel stepped up to aid those who could not walk out on their own.
Local businesses pitched in to donate food and drinks for first responders and investigators. After the fire was extinguished, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was brought on site, and within a week, the agency determined the cause of the fire was arson.
By the time the fire was extinguished, CAFMA and PVPD were aided by an extensive number of partners. PVPD reached out to neighboring police, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Yavapai County Emergency Management, Prescott and other fire agencies for assistance and the response was immediate. CAFMA marshaled its resources, along with the resources of the Prescott Fire Department.
“The City of Cottonwood’s new Ladder 411 was also called in to assist as an elevated master stream,” said CAFMA PIO Kathy Goodman. “Thankfully, we were able to call for both countywide and statewide mutual aid, which was used to backfill our fire stations and run 911 calls unrelated to the fire.”
Along with the coordination and mutual aid of surrounding agencies, officials say, one of the biggest factors in successfully containing the Legado fire was the extensive preparation of emergency personnel, from local fire and police departments, county emergency management and the PRCC.
“CAFMA and Prescott Fire Department have shifted some of our collective training focus over the last couple of years to mid-rise commercial and residential structures. Our crews have trained together, and that training allowed our company officers to make good tactical decisions when they arrived on scene, which allowed them to effectively protect the surrounding structures,” said CAFMA Fire Chief Scott Freitag.
Freitag said the importance of the relationship between law enforcement and fire crews in the field also cannot be overstated. Another relationship that was important is the one with the Fain Signature Group, builders of Legado.
“The Fain Signature Group has been awesome throughout the buildout of Legado and allowing our crews to go in and train. The first-in company officer that night is probably the most well versed in that building because he trained in it so often. [In voices over the radio that night] I did not hear anxiety. I heard calm, cool, with good commands and good incident command infrastructure set up immediately. The working relationship we have with Prescott Fire was on full display that night,” said Chief Freitag. “I feel like we spoke very loudly at Legado that our folks are highly trained, highly skilled and they made great tactical decisions.”
“I want to thank our community,” said Brad Fain in a public statement. “The outreach and pouring in of support and condolences to me, our entire family and our business has been heartfelt and appreciated. I also want to sincerely thank all the first responders who managed the fire that has impacted our community and so many individuals. There are just too many to name them all – please know that we are so appreciative of all of you!”
“In these dire circumstances, our government agencies and local businesses showcased what is so amazing about living here,” said PVPD Public Information Officer Lt. Jason Kaufman. QCBN
By Heidi Dahms Foster, QCBN
Courtesy Photo: Crews from around the region battled the Prescott Valley Legado Fire in the early morning hours of Monday, April 1.
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