Exclusive Interview with Bishop Fire Chief Bret Russell on West Line Street Fire

Bishop Fire Department, Other Agencies Respond to Residential Fire on West Line Street

Last night around 8:45 PM, a residential structure fire was reported on West Line Street across from Manor Market.

Chief Bret Russell of the Bishop Volunteer Fire Department recounted the dispatch and the department’s assessment and response.

“We were dispatched out last night to a structure fire… Upon my arrival, we had a well-involved working structure fire with what would be the charlie delta side that had the greatest involvement giving us an exposure problem to the adjacent structure.”

“Charlie” and “delta” refer to the back and right side of a structure, respectively.

“Bishop Fire folks arrived on scene, secured a water source, stretched multiple hose lines… and started to mitigate the problem. And the firefighters did a phenomenal job of fire suppression.”

It was estimated that the fire was put out in 20 minutes.

Chief Russell praised the firefighters’ work on the call. “We had a stellar showing from our folks. We had multiple apparatus on scene and a stacked roster of our folks that showed up to help mitigate the blaze. So as always, I’m thankful for our people and for what they do.”

Big Pine Volunteer Fire Department and CalFire also responded for mutual aid, with Bishop Police Department, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, and California Highway Patrol on scene as well. Southern California Edison deployed a service truck to work on nearby power lines. According to locals, reports were made of downed lines and power outages in the area, presumed to be in connection with the fire.

In the course of the incident, West Line Street was put under a hard closure for 45 minutes to one hour. The fire was limited to one unoccupied residence, which is now “not livable,” and no civilians, animals, or firefighters were injured. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Regarding the fire’s aftermath, Chief Russell offered, “If anyone has questions, comments, concerns, I’ve got an open door policy so feel free to reach out.”

The Bishop Volunteer Fire Department will continue investigating the fire and will release additional details as they become available.

Kayla Barton

Kayla is a writer and historian from the Eastern Sierra.
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TIP JAR