Lawn Mower Causes Taunton Lane Brush Fire

By Andrew Gorosko

About 25 Hawleyville and Dodgingtown firefighters responded to a Taunton Lane property just after noon on a windy November 3 to extinguish an accidental brush fire, which occurred after hot sections of a large lawnmower came into contact with a pile of dry, mulched leaves, fire officials said.

Hawleyville Assistant Fire Chief Bill Brunetti, Jr, said that when firefighters arrived at the 12:05 pm call, they found an approximately 2,500-square-foot area in the yard at 16 Taunton Lane on fire. There were no injuries.

The fire occurred about 150 feet from the house at that address, which is owned by Renee Byrne, who was home at the time of the blaze, fire officials said.

A workman employed by JV Lawn Service of Sandy Hook was doing leaf cleanup work on the property, according to Fire Marshal Bill Halstead. The unidentified workman was using a large riding lawn mover with a leaf vacuum attached, when the hot muffler on the vehicle came into contact with a pile of dry, mulched leaves, igniting the leaves and then setting the mower on fire.

The fire destroyed the lawn mower and the vacuum, causing an estimated $11,700 in property damage, Mr Halstead said.

 Gasoline leaking from the mower caused the fire to spread, Asst Chief Brunetti said. There was no explosion, he added.

Fortunately, the fire occurred during a lull in the winds on the windy day, he said. It took firefighters using water about 15 minutes to put of the blaze, he said.

The Hawleyville and Dodgingtown firefighters did a good job in controlling and extinguishing the fire, Mr Halstead said.