CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — When the weather leans more on the colder side, first responders tend to be a little busier.
From downed powerlines to house fires, the Corpus Christi Fire Department is responding to weather related fired that could be avoided.
"It's really just diagnosing the intensity of the situation and working towards that end," said CCFD Battalion Chief Robin McGill.
When temperatures begin to drop, McGill said that the department starts getting calls for various types of fires.
"In monitoring the radio, it has been a little heavier traffic on the fire side of things," McGill said. "We've had anywhere to a grass fire which we did respond to late last night to several reports of structure fires, stove fires, oven fires and so forth."
In a recent structure fire, the chimney had picked up some flames. He wants to remind the community that with cold weather looming, residents should clean out their chimneys.
"The products that you find within the fireplace itself as well as a chimney are specific to burning wood. The product that is left behind is called creosote. It's extremely flammable. It also is an irritant to the skin and eyes," McGill said.
With the holidays quickly approaching, CCFD is making sure that there are enough staff to tackle any emergencies that may come their way.
"24/7, 365. Christmas and New Years holidays included. In order for us to do that, we do have a minimum staffing in order to staff our 18 fire stations," McGill said.
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