Crews Asking for Public's Help to Prevent Brush Fires

(NECN: Eileen Curran, Saugus, Mass.) - Firefighters set out, not in an engine, but in a boat to tackle a stubborn brush fire. It’s in the woods of the Lynn Woods Reservation, on the Saugus/Lynn, Mass. line.

The only way to reach parts of the 30-acre fire is by boat, and the crew is going to use water cans to try and extinguish a flare up.

“We’re going to try it manually at first then, if needed, like they did last night, bring a portable pump over,” said Saugus Fire Captain Donald Shea.

Brush fires are popping up in wooded areas across the state. The nearly snowless winter, followed by a dry spring, has made conditions ripe for fires.

Crews are doing what they can to quickly contain them but say the public has to help prevent them.

“People need to be more careful, especially with cigarettes,” said Saugus Fire Chief Jim Blanchard. “They throw them out of car windows; they throw them on the ground.

Smoking on the back of your porch; a lot of people don’t smoke in the house. They go out on the porch and throw cigarette down. It blows under porch and there are leaves under there,” he said.

“Just be more proactive with anything that can start a fire.”

David Lee walks his dog Larry in the Lynn Woods almost every day. He hopes the blaze doesn’t get out of control and destroy their favorite place to walk.

“No, I’m not worried right now,” said Lee. “You can smell it. If it was real bad, I wouldn’t go up here.”

Here are some red flag warning fire safety tips:

·Dispose of smoking materials in appropriate container
·Do not burn brush or trash ever without appropriate approval
·Be extremely careful when using outside grills
·If you have fireplace ashes, you must put them into a sealed metal container
·Workers using power tools that generate sparks need to be mindful
·Use common sense and practice sound fire safety habits

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