FMFD firefighters deployed to help with Texas wildfires

A group of Flower Mound Fire Department firefighters has been deployed since last week to help contain wildfires and brush fires around the state.

Three FMFD members were deployed Wednesday with a brush truck to a wildfire in Young County, about two hours west of Flower Mound, as part of a Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) strike team, according to the fire department. The Young County fire was quickly contained, and the TIFMAS strike team was stationed in Brownwood, about two hours south of Young County, because of elevated fire danger.

On Friday, the team was called to the Dugan 2 Fire in Archer County, south of Wichita Falls. After two days, the strike team completed its assignment on the nearly 1,600-acre wildfire and returned to Brownwood, according to FMFD spokesman Brandon Barth.

Barth said the strike team — which includes members from the Lake Cities, Denton, McKinney, Frisco and Fort Worth fire departments — plans to demobilize Tuesday if there are no new fires in the area.

The TIFMAS program enables the state to call for trained firefighters to quickly respond to large fires and other emergencies that require more resources than the local first responders have. The state will reimburse the town for the crew, equipment and overtime needed to cover for the deployed firefighters.