The Gould Volunteer Fire Department did not respond Wednesday night while a house was being destroyed by fire.

“It has been an ongoing situation,” said Earnest Nash, acting mayor of Gould. “It has been addressed in city council meetings before. Why they didn’t respond I don’t know, but this is the fourth fire they did not respond to.”

A fire that began at around midnight Wednesday burned the home of Tom Knight at 300 W. Jefferson. The Grady Volunteer Fire Department did respond to the fire, but the fire had progressed too much to save the house. The homeowner couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Gould department also did not respond to a house fire in October and they did not respond to a car fire two weeks ago, Nash said.

He said it is common for the city to receive backup fire support from the fire departments of Wells Bayou, Grady, Cummins prison and sometimes Dumas.

“As the acting mayor, I’m frustrated and I sort of feel helpless in the situation,” Nash said. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen and all I know to do is enlist the help of the community.”
 

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