“The flames were are high as the house and climbing up to the tops of the trees,” is how one bystander described the scene. Just after 1pm the Mattapoisett Fire Department received a call for an out of control brush fire on Meadowbrook Lane. The fire, which had spread from a small brush pile that was being burned, was pushed by the high winds and spread rapidly. Initially a contractor working on a neighboring house who alerted the homeowner saw the smoke, the smoke could be seen from across the harbor. The MFD was able to rapidly knock down the fire and clean up he scene within an hour.
While working the scene of the brush fire the Department received a call regarding a possible car fire on Acushnet Road. The first police officers on the scene reported a pick up truck with smoke billowing from the engine compartment. The Fairhaven Fire Department was contacted to assist with the vehicle fire on Acushnet Road and arrived on scene at the same time as Mattapoisett’s Engine 4. On arrival firefighters were met with a fully involved vehicle. The vehicle, which was an older model, was a project that the homeowner had been working on for some time to restore.
The National Weather Service reports that South Coast Massachusetts is currently experiencing elevated fire weather potential. This condition is caused by low humidity and high winds, a condition which is common this time of year and persists until the natural vegetation starts to green up in he later spring.
By Paul Lopes
