Canton, Area Crews Contain Brush Fire in North Canton
April 18, 2016
By John Fitts
CANTON — The town of Canton Volunteer Fire and EMS Department and several area departments battled a large brush fire off Andrew Drive on Monday night.
At approximately 7:40 p.m., crews were called to the area of 8 Andrew Drive for a brush fire, Canton Fire Capt. Wayne Goeben said. There was a good half- to three quarters of a mile of fire line burning up the ridge and down toward Andrew Drive, Goeben said, adding the responding crews’ first priority was to push flames away from the house.
There were also three other homes in the vicinity, two on Andrew Drive and one on Hidden Valley Trail, but residents were not evacuated, Goeben said. Winds were also pushing the fire up the face of the mountain, he said.
A regional task force and numerous area departments responded to help with the fire, which fire officials said was largely extinguished in approximately 2 hours. Officials estimated that as much as 10 acres was involved. Late Monday night, firefighters continued to monitor the woods for “hot spots.”
Firefighters were able to reach most of the fire via tanker hoses from area driveways. With no hydrants in North Canton, tankers used a “dry hydrant” from Carpenter’s Pond on Case Street.
“There’s no city water available,” Goeben said. “It’s all got to be trucked in.”
“Right now it’s fully contained we’re all around it, ” Goeben said late Monday night. “We’re making sure we have accountability on everyone, making sure the guys are fully hydrated and starting to release our mutual aid partners. We’ll determine how to proceed for the night.”
Goeben said it’s also a good reminder for people to be careful and not improperly dispose of ashes, avoid open burning, throwing cigarettes out the window, etc.
“it’s the largest brush fire Canton’s had in years,” Goeben said. “It just speaks to how careful people have to be. It goes up fast. It’s tinder dry right now.”
The fire is the second brush fire in a week. A recent one came in at 3 a.m. on West Mountain and was due to discarded ashes, Goeben said.
Late Monday night, fire marshal Tim Tharau arrived on scene.
Also responding to the scene was the Salvation Army canteen, run by volunteers from the East Hartford Community Emergency Response Team to provide water and food for firefighters on scene. It’s available 24/7 for public safety needs.
Goeben said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was also notified.