‘Hot and heavy’ Tamaqua brush fire shows challenges faced by firefighters

TAMAQUA — State Fire Warden Paul Kennedy was inactive onsite monitoring a brushwood occurrence connected Schuylkill County’s eastbound borderline Friday day erstwhile helium was called to different brushwood occurrence connected the county’s occidental edge.

Back-to-back fires, occurring astir arsenic if connected a schedule, underscored the strength of the existent brushwood occurrence season.

While driving from 1 occurrence to the other, astir a 40-mile trek, Kennedy took clip to speech astir the challenges presented by the upcoming brushwood occurrence season.

“Last year, we had a precise precocious and unprecedented season, warring brushwood fires into November,” said Kennedy, who is based successful Llewellyn. “This year, we person an aboriginal season, warring brushwood fires since February.”

So far, determination person been 12 large brushwood fires this year,” helium said, “compared to 2 during the aforesaid play past year.”

Conditions are ripe — beardown upwind gusts, comparative humidity successful the debased 30s and temperatures successful the 60s — for brushwood fires.

“This is premier brushwood occurrence season,” declared Kennedy, who said rainfall is not forecast until the extremity of the week. “We’re expecting to beryllium engaged implicit the Easter holiday.”

Fortunately, helium said, speedy responses of country occurrence companies person contained the fires to a fewer acres.

American Hose Co. No. 1 was archetypal to respond to Friday’s occurrence successful a mountainous portion supra Tamaqua’s Dutch Hill residential area.

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Cassie Fritzinger, left, unit washes a occurrence hose portion Elaina Coleman, right, holds it retired astatine South Ward Fire Company successful Tamaqua, Friday, April 18, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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Elaina Coleman works to rotation the occurrence hose backmost up into the occurrence motor astatine South Ward Fire Company successful Tamaqua, (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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Cassie Fritzinger, left, uses a unit washer to cleanable disconnected a hose utilized to combat a brushwood occurrence portion Kevin Miller, right, holds it up astatine South Ward Fire Company successful Tamaqua, Friday, April 18, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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Cassie Fritzinger, left, unit washes a occurrence hose portion Elaina Coleman, right, holds it retired astatine South Ward Fire Company successful Tamaqua, Friday, April 18, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

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An aggravated blaze devouring brushwood connected a steep mountainside rained showers of sparks, 1 of the responders reported. Flames were 10 oregon much feet high.

Embers from the main occurrence spawned a 2nd blaze a abbreviated region away. For a clip it appeared adjacent powerfulness lines were successful danger, according to dispatches from the Schuylkill County Communications Center. Authorities placed a level connected standby for a h2o drop.

The occurrence was fed by stands of Japanese knotweed, a dense woody works that burns quickly, said Kennedy, a authorities Department of Conservation and Natural Resources warden.

“It crackles and pops,” helium said. “It sounds similar a freight bid erstwhile it gets going.”

Flying embers from Japanese knotweed fires often spawn further “spot” fires nearby, Kennedy explained.

Mark Bower, main of South Ward Fire Co. No 1 successful Tamaqua, said Friday’s brushwood occurrence was fanned by 25 mph winds.

“It was a fast-moving fire,” said Bower, a unpaid DCNR occurrence warden.

American Fire had already “put a bully wounded connected the fire” erstwhile South Ward arrived with its wildlands and precocious h2o rescue truck, Bower said.

The Weiser District 18 Type V motor is specially equipped for brushwood fires. Sitting precocious disconnected the ground, it tin entree rugged terrain. It carries a 600-gallon vessel and thin, airy hose that provides the flexibility needed to entree fires successful wooded areas.

Firefighter Kevin Miller was greeted by flames and flying ash arsenic helium stepped from South Ward’s bush truck.

“It was going blistery and heavy,” said Miller, 54, a information manager who was responding to his archetypal bush fire.

Responding to the occurrence were Tamaqua’s East End Fire Co. and companies from Walker Twp., Tuscarora and New England. Tank trucks from adjacent Lehigh Navigation Coal Company provided h2o to firefighters astatine the scene.

Afterward, arsenic volunteers power-washed hoses astatine South Ward, Bower expressed acknowledgment to the volunteers who responded to the fire.

“We’re blessed,” helium said, “to person radical that are consenting to spell retired into the woods to combat fires.”

Then, Bower issued this plea to the public: “Please don’t pain erstwhile it’s adust and windy. We would truly admit that.”