Fire crews responded to Tonawanda to help extinguish a four-acre brush fire
Wednesday August 22, 2012 | By:Kori Sciandra | News
Fire crews were able to get the fire under control within a few hours with the assistance of neighboring fire departments.
Tonawanda Fire Departments gear up to battle the blaze behind the Dunlop Plant.
Firefighters from Grand island to Amherst were called to the scene behind Dunlop, Tuesday afternoon, to extinguish a brush fire that was spreading rapidly. Fire departments from The Town of Tonawanda, including Brighton Fire Company, Ellicott Creek Fire Department and Kenmore Fire Department thought they could handle the fire with only three fire departments, but soon learned they needed more man power to battle the blaze.
Brighton Fire Chief Chris Tracey stated the cause of the fire was attributed to a law mower, driven by a private contractor who was cutting the lawn behind Dunlop, that had caught on fire.
“Due to the weather conditions this year, the fire spread rapidly,” said Tracey.
Crews were called to the scene around 3:30 p.m. and were able to control the burn by 6:15 p.m., with crews combing the area for hot spots at that time.
“This was mainly a grass and tree fire. We have crews working out there now cutting down trees that are smoldering,” said Tracey.
The flames spread as far as four acres, in the direction of Sawyer.
Although visibility on the I-90 was poor, Tracey stated the crews did not feel motorists were in harms way.
No firefighters were harmed while extingushing the fire, however, a few were treated by on site EMS for heat exhaustion.
“It was a challenge,” said Tracey. “We don’t often train for fires like this. They [the firefighters] did a good job getting that down so quickly.”
No injuries were sustained by the contractor who was operating the mower either.
Although there was significant damage to the brush and trees, there is no property damage stated at this time.
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