The 70 West Fire Department has battled four different fires over the course of three days this past week, which all reportedly started from controlled burns.
On Monday, at approximately 6:30, 70 West firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire at 654 Springwood Road. The call initially came across as a grass fire on Rock Creek Road, but units responding to the area were unable to locate any sign of a grass fire, 70 West Fire Chief Autumn Carlisle said Tuesday.
"Despite initially having the wrong incident location, units were on scene within 6 minutes of dispatch to find a large grass fire with two structures fully engulfed in flames," she said.
According to the property owner, a 1999 Land Rover Discovery, 2016 Thor Gemini motor home, a trailer and electric golf cart were reportedly lost in the fire due to their close proximity to the storage shed that initially caught fire.
The fire spread very quickly due to dry conditions and wind, Carlisle said. It took 16 firefighters and one apparatus from 70 West, as well as six firefighters and one apparatus from Piney Volunteer Fire Department to extinguish the blaze.
"After fire was extinguished it appeared the fire originated from a controlled burn earlier in the afternoon. The burn piles were located at the residence in the fire area," she said.
The fire caused minor exterior damage to an adjacent residence, Carlisle said. One firefighter was treated for a minor ankle injury on scene.
Carlisle noted that in the past three days, they have responded to four significant fires in the area, all reportedly originating from controlled burns that were a few days or hours old.
"These fires quickly rekindled and were out of control in a matter of moments. The dry and windy conditions are contributing to the rapid spread of the fires," she said.
"Many of the residents involved thought their fires were out and had gone inside, or left to go to work," she said.
Carlisle said residents and local hunters need to ensure their fire is completely extinguished before leaving it unattended. She said having a good area of dirt line cleared around the fire can help prevent if from spreading if it does rekindle.
"We hope that everyone can have a safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday. From the way things have been going, it looks like unless residents will refrain from having outdoor fires, it will be a busy holiday for the area fire departments," she said.
Local on 11/22/2017