At 4:35pm on February 25th, a forest fire broke out in Sutherland Woods near Peacock Farm Road. The Lexington Fire Station was quick to dispatch personnel to the site and control the fire, despite facing an unexpected malfunctioning fire hydrant. The fire was suspected to be caused by human activity, but the investigation is still ongoing.
Nearby residents expressed their shock at this highly unusual event.
“My neighbor … called … and said, ‘Oh, my husband just sent me a weird text message, are the woods on fire?’ And I looked over [at the forest] and I was like, ‘Holy smokes, the woods are on fire!’” Zarin Machanda, a resident on Peacock Farm Road, said.
The fire station sent three lieutenant officers and the shift commander from the nearest district engine company immediately after receiving a call from an unnamed resident. After quickly inspecting the scene, the firefighters called for reinforcements, including two engines from headquarters, brush trucks, fire prevention officers, and the assistant chief, for a total of 12 personnel on-site.
“[The firefighters] know what their assignments are, so they’re accountable for what they’re doing,” Don Chisholm, Assistant Fire Chief, said.
The dispatched firefighters got the fire under control in 30 minutes, but spent an additional hour monitoring the area for any rekindling, garnering positive responses from nearby residents.
“They were really quick to respond. They dealt with the fire really quickly and incredibly competently. I felt really calm and relieved…I was like, ‘Oh we’re gonna be fine, nothing’s gonna happen to us,’” Machanda said.
Despite their swift response, the process was not without hitches. When the firefighters attempted to attach a hose to the nearest fire hydrant, they discovered that the hydrant was not working. This caused a slight delay in extinguishing the fire.
“The Department of Public Works is responsible for maintenance of the hydrants. But with so many hydrants, it’s hard for them to be certain every single one of them is gonna work,” Chisholm said.
Since the firefighters are trained to anticipate any unexpected circumstances during an emergency, they were able to use a fire hydrant several hundred feet away to extinguish the flames. However, the malfunctioning hydrant raised concerns from both the fire department and residents, who expressed their mixed feelings on the incident.
“I was concerned when [the fire hydrant] didn’t work because I know they check it every year… but I think it’s great that even though it didn’t work, they were able to still deal with it and put out the fire really quickly. So that actually gave me a lot of confidence in them,” Machanda said.
With warmer and drier weather soon approaching, the fire department remains concerned about potential fire outbreaks.
“We’re still considered to be in a drought condition and we’ve already had a few more brush fires in the eastern part of the state lately. So we’re cautiously waiting to see how the spring fire season goes,” Chisholm said.
Warmer weather also invites more backyard activities such as grilling and pit fires. As such, the Fire Department warns Lexington residents to remain vigilant in watching for sparks and prepare a bucket of water in case of ignition.
“If a fire does start, your first priority is to call 911 to get the fire department,” Chisholm said.