‘Heartbreaking’ — Cuba Volunteer Fire Department building suffers severe fire | News
CUBA, Ill. — Structure fires are unfortunately common, but it’s unexpected for the firefighting facility itself to fall victim to the flames.
A “brotherhood” of local first responding agencies arrived for mutual aid, including the Latham Dukedom Volunteer Fire Department, Calloway County Fire-Rescue, Wingo Volunteer Fire Department, Water Valley Fire Department, Mayfield Graves Fire-Rescue Squad, Graves County Sheriff’s Office and Mayfield ambulance service.
That’s “heartbreaking” situation the Cuba Community Volunteer Fire Department experienced Thursday afternoon, with their main station sustaining significant damage.
Cuba Fire Captain Joseph Siedel, who has been with the department for over a decade, said he was at home with his family when the alert on his pager left him in “total disbelief.”
“When I realized it was our department, I left as soon as I could,” Siedel said. “This place is like your baby. It’s your life. It’s a secondary home. You’ve been here with your family building trust in a career.”
Cuba Fire Captain Joseph Siedel described the fire as “devastating,” but he expressed confidence that the station will recover.
While the typical response for a structure fire is containing the flames and evacuating occupants, Siedel said they also had to prioritize saving as much equipment as possible. Despite a heat index exceeding 100 degrees, he said the crew “did manage to get almost everything out, except for a few things.”
“As soon as I arrived on scene, the bay doors were open and full of smoke,” Siedel said. “Our assistant chief, Chris Travis, ran in and got a truck to pull out. I put on some oxygen and just started grabbing all the gear. Immediately, we called for mutual aid because we didn’t know what we were exactly working with, or if we could even get back there to get the trucks out.”
Siedel said the kitchen, chief’s office and communications office are “completely ruined,” while extensive damage means “the training room isn’t usable” and “a lot of the electrical has to be replaced.”
The harsh conditions even made Siedel develop heat exhaustion, with a heart rate of roughly 170 and an internal temperature of 102 degrees.
The main interior part of the building is “completely ruined.”
“I was more focused on getting our supplies out because that’s critical. Human safety is number one, but I pushed it just a little bit,” Siedel said. “I had to be taken to the emergency room, but I bounced right back.”
Siedel said it’s because of the “brotherhood” of local first responders that the Cuba Fire Department didn’t suffer a worse impact from the fire.
“It makes you tear up when you see all your brothers and sisters come from every jurisdiction. We know we’re safe when we overheat,” Siedel said. “Graves County has a fantastic mutual aid agreement and a fantastic dispatch community that works and saves our lives every day.”
Echoing that dedication to emergency services, Siedel said Cuba Fire Department can still remain operational following the “devastating” loss.
“Right now, we are a functioning station. We do not have any electricity, but we are still able to serve the community,” Siedel said. “If I got a page right now, I would open up that bay, and we would leave. They have nothing to worry about, and we’ll respond to mutual aid, as well. We have everything under control, as if there’s an emergency at the moment.”
While the main floor was primarily impacted by the fire, the training floor also “isn’t usable” due to smoke damage.
As for the department’s journey toward recovery, Siedel said it’s currently uncertain if the building is salvageable or if it needs to be rebuilt. He said the next step is for an insurance surveyor to assess the property, which is uninhabitable as it stands. Moreover, the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
“They’re going to take a look at the facility for structure damage and see what the best route is to go after that,” Siedel said. “These walls may look good on the outside, but internally, that’s tin. You never know what kind of damage. Plumbing, electrical, anything could be melted inside there.”
Siedel also noted that volunteer fire departments like Cuba don’t receive the same funding and resources as city agencies, so they heavily rely on community support. He said those needs are even more pressing now that the Cuba station is compromised.
“One of our most critical needs as far as assets is oxygen. It’s really expensive, about $6,000 right now per pack. We also don’t know what damage the smoke’s done to some of those packs,” Siedel said. “Some big support that we actually could use is more volunteers. If you want to serve your community, please contact us, and we’ll put you in the right direction.”
“Something we typically don’t like to ask the community for are financials because we want to serve them, but that would definitely help,” he continued. “With the smoke damage, we don’t know what else has been contaminated or is usable.”
Siedel said some “irreplaceable” items are framed photos of Cuba fire crews throughout the years.
Siedel expressed confidence in the resilience of the Graves County community after enduring hardships like the December 2021 tornado. He said the same principle applies to the Cuba Fire Department’s recovery.
“With prayers and hardworking people, we’re going to get it back up and running in no time,” Siedel said. “We can get over anything. The tornado, we got over it. There’s nothing we can’t get over… Your community is only as good as your people, and if we just keep doing nice things to each other and pray for each other every day, we will have one of the strongest counties out here.”
Will Spencer is a reporter for the Mayfield Messenger.