Putting Out Fires Man of Many Firsts

BY MADELINE ACOSTA FOR THE OBSERVER

LEE COUNTY —

On Saturday, Feb. 4, I drove to Louise Cardoza’s farm out in Chambers County. Cardoza is a volunteer at the Oak Bowery Volunteer Fire Depart- ment (OBVFD), which is about a mile down the road from her house. We sat down with volunteers Robert Griffith and Gene Quick, had some breakfast and coffee, and the four of us discussed the fire department and its history.

The department first opened its doors in the ‘80s with about 20 volunteers and Steve Tucker as the original fire chief.

“He was the one that got the original grant money to get the two engines,” Griffith said. “And the engines were used, so they weren’t new.”

A lack of resources is something all too common at the Oak Bowery Volunteer Fire Department. The equipment being used and outdated can only go so far, and See OBVFD, page A5