A 'Hot Time' in Southington as Brush Fires Continue to Spark

Things are getting a little hot in Southington these days, and it’s not just the weather.

Firefighters doused a wide brush fire along Buckland Street early Thursday evening, the sixth that the department has responded to in just a three-week period. If the trend continues with warm, drier weather then officials said it could make for a long, busy summer for the .

“This is one of numerous calls we’ve gotten in the past several weeks and it doesn’t seem like things are going to get an easier,” said Capt. John Folcik. “The winter has been warm and typically you’d see the ground saturated this time of year, not dry and crisp when you step on it.”

Lack of snow and warmer temperatures this year means a much smaller potential for springtime flooding, but that is of little consolation to firefighters, many whom said Thursday that they are gearing up for an unusually high number of brush fire calls. The department is prepared, Folcik said, but it’s tough to plan for the unknown.

, which occurred around 5 p.m. in the undeveloped property just south of the Wilbur Street intersection on Buckland Street. Winds and warm weather allowed the fire to spread quickly as smoldering grass and brush covered a 50-foot by 100-foot area when firefighters arrived and threatened to spread east toward Old Turnpike Road.

The response allowed firefighters to contain the flames relatively quickly and the fires were contained mainly to the ground, but there was some minimal damage done to Connecticut Light and Power equipment on the property, officials said.

The real challenge, Folcik said, came in spreading out to combat the flames. The department used a brush truck and more than 750 feet of hose to surround the flames.

“It’s the type of response where the danger isn’t that great, but it takes a lot of time and coordination to respond properly,” he said. “I’m getting the feeling it’s going to be a busy summer.”

The National Weather Service issued a brushfire alert Thursday, due in large part to the near 70-degree temperatures and breeze. It was the first of 2012 – but unfortunately for the Southington Fire Department, it was not the first response of the year and is not likely to be the last.

Capt. Alan Zygmunt confirmed that the last several weeks have presented some challenges already. The department responded to three reports of brush fires on Feb. 22. The fires occurred off Executive Boulevard, along Darling Street and near Wassel Reservoir.

The best defense against a brush fire, officials said, is to have cooperation from residents. The first step is to ask residents to be aware of the circumstances and take precautions to avoid smoking or using fire sources in an area with lots of brush.

In the event that residents see smoke, Zygmunt said the department encourages that it be reported even if there may not be any fire showing.

“It doesn’t take long for these to spread,” he said. “We would rather have a chance to check it out and find out it’s nothing than to have a major fire start up.”