Station 10 responded to a brush fire in the 400 block of S. Springdale Road in the late afternoon hours of March 31, 2014. Upon arrival, units found a wind driven fire travelling across a ridge in the woods about 1/4 of a mile off the road. The fire began to move faster than firefighters could keep up with and began to cover a very large area of wooded land.
Lt. 10-1 assumed "Springdale Road Command", called for 2 additional Brush Units and then, 2 additional Tankers. As more personnel arrived and the wind speeds reduced, firefighters were able to slow the progression of the fire. Brush 85 arrived and quickly went to work in the woods on the southeast side to extinguish the perimeter fires. Brush 35 also arrived and went to work on the northwest side.
Crews worked the fireline for about 1 1/2 hours and used nearly 2000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical wires arcing in the wooded area, thus setting dry leaves/debris on fire. The fire consumed about 2 1/2 acres of tree debris and undergrowth. At the end of the operation, Brush 85 was filled for the last time on-scene and proceeded around the entire fire perimeter for one last soaking before going in-service.
The tankers were placed in-service as they arrived since the fires progression was halted by on=scene units. Engine/Tanker 82 transferred to Station 10 during the rest of the incident. There were no injuries reported.
Units On-Scene: E-101, E-102, B-105, Ut-10-1, Chief 10 (New Windsor), B-85, E/T-82 (Union Bridge), B-35 (Westminster), Ta-6 (Pleasant Valley) |