A brush fire Saturday at 2:23 p.m. at 92 South Road had Engine 1, Forestry 1 and Medic 2 responding, as well as a call for assistance to Windham, according to Londonderry Fire Battalion Chief Jim Roger.
“It came at a bad time,” Roger said. “Lately we can’t get just one call at the same time, multiple calls come in. Right before the brush fire call came in, Nashua had a three-alarm fire so Central Station’s Engine 3 went to Nashua for Mutual Aid, and shortly after that we had a medical call down the south end, and then right after that the brush fire call came in. Because of the other calls, Engine 1 and Forestry 1 from the north end of town responded and I responded out of Central, and when I got there, it was moving pretty quick.”
Roger said the fire was about 50 feet by 75 feet and moving.
“We also requested a Windham Engine to cover the town because Central Station and Station 2 were out on calls,” Roger said. “I was able to take a fire extinguisher from Car 1 and put the fire out before Engine 1 got there because if I didn’t put the fire out, it was heading towards an RV (recreational vehicle) in the back yard. We basically had two exposures, one going towards the RV and another one the fence going to the South School.”
Roger said that had he not had a fire extinguisher in his car, the vehicle could have caught fire. “Just by having the fire extinguisher in the car kind of saved the day,” Roger said.
He said Medic 1 responded after returning from its medical call to have manpower at the brush fire.
Roger said crews were on site just under an hour.
“The biggest thing is once the fire is out, there is a period of overhaul,” Roger said.
Chief Roger added “In a brush fire we use class A foam. It helps the water do a better job. It gives the water more penetrating ability so it kind of soaks in and prevents what we call a re-kindle.”