By Olivia Drake, HVFC Public Info. Officer.
At 8:20 p.m. on April 24, 2021, Haddam Volunteer Fire Company, with mutual aid from Durham Volunteer Fire Company, responded to a back-yard brush fire on Wiese Albert Road in Higganum.
The homeowner, who was manning a campfire, noticed his tiki-torch was on fire and it fell to the ground, igniting a wooded area. The fire rapidly spread across an approximately one-acre area on top of a hill. Firefighters accessed the flames from a wooded trail and used brush rakes, portable water tanks, and hose lines from two ATVs to suppress the fire.
This was the 10th brush fire HVFC has responded to this spring.
The Haddam Fire Marshal reminds residents that the fire danger in early spring is generally high. The ground is scattered with dry leaves and other organic material which can easily ignite from a small spark such as a burning cigarette or fire ember. Wind can quickly intensify even a small fire. Please take extra precautions until the forests begin “greening up.”
While burning brush is permitted in the Town of Haddam, fires should be constantly monitored with water nearby. To obtain a burn permit, contact the Fire Marshal at (860) 345-8531 ext. 220.
Photos by Olivia Drake.
