A Fast-Moving Fire In Sandy Hook

By Andrew Gorosko

About 20 firefighters late Wednesday morning responded to a fast-moving grass fire which swept across a steep pasture on brisk shifting winds at Medridge Farm in Sandy Hook.

A farmhand, who had obtained an open burning permit that morning from the town, had been burning brush on the hillside, but an unexpected wind whipped up, spreading the fire across the slope.

Firefighters from Sandy Hook, Newtown Hook and Ladder, and Botsford responded to the call at the Walnut Tree Hill Road property of State Rep Julia Wasserman.

Crews of firefighters hustled water-charged hoses up the mountainous slope in chasing the leading edge of the blaze. When not spraying water on the fire, firemen attacked the burning turf with brooms to stop the fire’s progress toward a wooded area atop the rise.

Having gotten the swift-moving fire under control, the team of weary firefighters rested amid the charred terrain. They then soaked the perimeter of the burned area to prevent the blaze from re-igniting.

Problems in fighting the blaze were compounded when two fire trucks became mired in mud on a sodden tractor path.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead directed firemen at the scene.

Following the exhausting work, six firefighters received oxygen, Chief Halstead said. One firefighter seemed especially exhausted after the incident, but did not require a trip to the hospital, the chief said.

The firefighters’ fatigue, caused by hauling equipment up the steep hillside, was intensified by smoke inhalation amid the swirling winds, Chief Halstead said.

The blaze, which covered about 11/2  acres of the meadow, was the largest ground fire so far this season, he said.