Photo by Brianna Farley - A fast-moving brush fire on the upper part of West First Street in South Bend was speedily extinguished by the local firefighters and the DNR early Friday evening.
SOUTH BEND - Rapid-fire promptness and precision teamwork enabled firefighters to knock down a big brush fire that easily could have turned into a huge forest fire in South Bend. Led by the South Bend Volunteer Fire Department and joined by three fire departments, a potential disaster was avoided after quick work by firefighters who hosed down the fire in the woods directly behind Bud's Lumber in the area known as Payne's Alley in South Bend early Friday evening at 5:47.
"The response was unbelievable," South Bend Fire Chief Alan Ashley told the Herald. "We all headed out as quickly as we could and we sent out everything we had. It took us one minute to put the fire in check."
The speedy, exact work of Ashley's crew prevented the fire from exploding and igniting the "four homes" that were within "150-to-300 feet away" from the fire. "We were lucky to hit it with big water quickly," Ashley said. "It was within minutes of taking off and taking over the area. Some of the homeowners were out with garden hoses."
Chief Ashley was proud of the South Bend firefighters and everyone involved with putting out the blaze.
"They never quit to impress me for what they do," Ashley said. "Everything worked like clockwork. We had a two-minute response time to the (fire) hall. When we got there it was already in the canopy of the trees and it was starting to move pretty quick."
The fire was at least 90 square feet and the flames reached more than 30 feet in height, according to Ashley. The exact location of the fire was on West First Street, which is owned by the city of South Bend. Ashley said no homes were damaged. Only pine trees and vegetation caught fire.
Chief Ashley said the call came in at 5:47 pm. The fire was extinguished at 6:13 pm.
"It was a combination of brush, trees and gorse (a yellow-flowered shrub of the pea family, the leaves of which are modified to form spines)," Ashley said, adding that with all the recent heat, sun and dryness, "We kinda have been waiting for this."
Chief Ashley said the response was "quick" and the turnout was "outstanding" with "assistance" from the Menlo Fire Dept., several Raymond firefighters and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) there with three vehicles, including two brush trucks. "Menlo was right there, Raymond sent some personnel over, as did DNR. They were minutes behind our crew in a situation that could have devastated our town. It was put to bed with ease. Everything went real well. We appreciate all the help from the Menlo and Raymond fire departments and DNR."
Also quickly on the scene were all four South Bend members of the police department, two Pacific County sheriff's deputies and one unit from the Raymond Police Department.
Chief Ashley thanked "our neighboring districts and our citizens that reported in a timely fashion," adding that it's "a reminder to all of us that we are being faced with serious fire conditions and need to take precautionary measures."
In all, there were more than 30 firefighters (22 from South Bend) at the scene with five fire trucks and three brush trucks. Ashley informed that "brush trucks are smaller and are set up for brush fires with lightweight hoses. There is a lot of difference between equipment used for structure fires and wildland fires. Our brush truck works out pretty handy."
At press time (Monday noon), the cause of the fire was still not determined and is under investigation.
Homeowner Races Home
Several people lined the nearby streets to watch the fire. The Herald caught up with Jessica Anderson on West First Street, who had left work after a customer told her there was a fire nearby her house where she lives. Anderson raced home (315 W. First St.) to make sure her husband (Jace) and 2½-year-old son (Torin) were safe, and to rescue her two cats and a bearded dragon.
"The flames were huge!" Anderson told the Herald while firefighters were still on the scene. "It was probably 250-to-300 feet from where my house is. It was so close to my home. It was pretty scary! I could feel it and I could smell it. I could hear it. I could hear the embers and the trees crackling. The crackling was so loud! I had to talk super-loud to tell Jace to get the baby and go!"
Anderson was amazed about how fast the fire departments arrived. "They were fast - like a bat out of hell to get here! My sister was a firefighter. I have a huge love for them."