A reminder that fires can start very quickly in the grass and brush, because of dry conditions.
Moncton Fire received several calls at around 9:30 last night after a brush fire broke out on Assomption Boulevard near Riverside Storage.
Flames could be seen from kilometres away.
“We were thinking that the large warehouse was on fire, because when we were coming down Vaughn Harvey, the flames were coming over the top of it. That was our concern at first, until we got in behind the warehouse and saw that it was in the field,” says Platoon Chief Rob Brine.
He says the fire covered an area up to 300 yards.
“We were quickly able to get the flames under control. Luckily it wasn’t very windy last night, so that was in our favour and the fire wasn’t spreading very fast. Our initial assessment was to get as much water on it as we possibly could and we put out the hot spots once we got the major part of the fire knocked down,” Brine adds.
“The fire could only go in one direction, due to the river, so once we got our fire lines set, it’s wasn’t too bad,” Brine says.
He adds, it’s important that everyone is very careful with discarding of things like lit cigarettes, because they can sit and smolder for a long time in the grass, and that could result in a large grass fire.
(photos courtesy of Wade Perry)