Brush fire destroys Kent fire truck

The Kent Fire Department lost this fire truck when the wind changed direction and sent a brush fire towards the truck (photo sent in by Ed Matson using our Report It feature), March 30, 2011. The Kent Fire Department lost this fire truck when the wind changed direction and sent a brush fire towards the truck (photo sent in by Ed Matson using our Report It feature), March 30, 2011. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Brush fire destroys Kent fire truck 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Some 8.5 acres of state land along Kent Road north (Route 7) burned for several hours after a spark from a mower ignited dry grass in a field there, Kent Fire Marshal Stanley MacMillan said.

"A contractor was mowing four fields in the Housatonic River Wildlife Management Area and we believe his mower hit a stone, causing a spark that ignited the grass," MacMillan said. "He was in another section of the fields and did not see the fire had started. When he viewed the site, he tried to put the fire out with his machine but chaff in the machine caught fire, causing a second blaze lower in the fields as he drove away," the fire marshal explained.

The contractor was mowing for the state Department of Environmental Protection Wildlife Division. It is not believed the fields being mowed were part of the New England Cottontail Rabbit habitat being clear cut in the Wildlife Management Area by the DEP.

The Kent Volunteer Fire Department received the fire call at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday. They brought their main response vehicle into a field within 100 yards of the blaze, when a mechanical problem caused the truck not to pump and then not to start.

"The wind shifted many times," MacMillan said. "The fire engulfed the truck and raced up hill toward structures along Route 7. That's why they brought so many fire companies in."

Fire companies from Warren, Cornwall, Sharon, Gaylordsville and Wassaic, NY, responded to the fire as well as Kent's Volunteer Fire Department.

"The fire burned for several hours. The guys did a good job of controlling the fire and bringing it under control," MacMillan said. "Kent's response vehicle was a total loss. It contained much of the department's response equipment, much of which was lost as well."

Fire officials said the cost of truck replacement will be covered by insurance.

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