Cooke County lists burn ban in effect as Gainesville offers free smoke-alarm installs

Cooke County's homepage lists Aug. 10 as the effective date of the county's current burn ban. Inside Gainesville, Fire-Rescue is using Fire Prevention Week to push for safer battery charging and to remind city residents that the department will install smoke alarms at no charge.

In a September announcement, the department asks residents to charge lithium-ion devices only with chargers the manufacturer has approved. It also warns against charging them on a bed or couch.

The outreach comes after city crews answered two fires on back-to-back days in September. The first, on Sept. 8, broke out in an empty house in the 400 block of North Denton Street. Investigators classified it as accidental, according to a department report. They said the most likely cause was an extension cord carrying too much current, which made the home's electrical system fail. Fire-Rescue said the house had no working smoke alarms. The department reported no injuries.

On Sept. 9, a motor home caught fire in the 900 block of Mesquite Street. A second report says investigators traced it to an accidental mechanical failure in the refrigerator. The owner and two dogs got out before firefighters arrived. The department said the motor home was a total loss.

Fire-Rescue and the Gainesville Fire Association will hold a Hose-Off tournament at 10 a.m. Oct. 10 at FireHouse 1918, 115 East Pecan Street, according to the September announcement. The same day, the department will set up a free smoke house at the Gainesville Farmers Market during Depot Day. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., children can practice escaping from a mock smoke-filled home.

The smoke-alarm program is open to anyone who lives inside city limits. Under the city's application, Fire-Rescue arranges a consultation in the home, then installs alarms and does any needed maintenance without charge. After the North Denton Street fire, the department also told residents to plug appliances straight into wall outlets. It said extension cords should not take the place of permanent wiring.

A National Fire Protection Association analysis of home fires from 2018 through 2022 compared fires where alarms worked with fires where alarms were missing or failed. The death rate was roughly 60 percent lower where they worked.

Cooke County also restricted outdoor burning earlier this year. A Feb. 9 order was set to run 90 days unless the Commissioners Court ended it sooner. Under that order, a violation was a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.

Neighboring counties have acted on their own timelines. Grayson County commissioners voted without dissent Aug. 11 to approve an outdoor-burning restriction, according to the county's meeting record. As of Oct. 6, the Grayson County fire marshal's page said no ban was in effect. Denton County's public-notice register shows a burn-ban order from its Commissioners Court dated Aug. 25.

The Texas A&M Forest Service says the state's risk of devastating wildfires is growing. The agency points to more people building where homes meet brush and grass, and to high fire danger coming more often. It reports that it and local fire departments responded to more than 5,000 wildfires across Texas in 2024.