Cause remains under investigation
THE FIRE that ultimately consumed 65 acres of the Reedy Meadow marsh on May 6 is believed to have started at the observation tower that stood on four posts about eight feet above the marsh. These portions of the posts are all that remain of the structure. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY and BOB BURGESS
LYNNFIELD — A wind-whipped, five-alarm brush fire burned about 65 acres of Reedy Meadow last Wednesday afternoon and brought crews from 10 area departments to assist the town’s fire crews in extinguishing the flames. The remoteness of the area made for a tough fire fight.
Lynnfield firefighters were assisted by crews from Wakefield, Peabody, Saugus, Lynn, Danvers, Salem, Swampscott, Reading and North Reading as well as the state Division of Forestry in battling the flames for over six and half hours. Late in the afternoon flyovers by a State Police helicopter provided reconnaissance to the firefighters.
LYNNFIELD Fire Captain Michael Feinberg (right) gives instructions to a Saugus fire official from the Heritage Lane staging area during the height of the May 6 brush fire. Firefighters from nine area towns plus the state Forestry Fire Service assisted Lynnfield. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
A staging area for a multitude of engines and equipment was set up on Heritage Lane, including an air conditioned RV where firefighters could cool off, rest and re-hydrate.
GOLFERS at the Reedy Meadow Golf Course continued to play their rounds last Wednesday while smoke from the five-alarm brush fire burned in the distance. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
“At some points we had flames 20 to 25 feet in the air. It was very spectacular,” Lynnfield Fire Chief Mark Tetreault told the Villager last Thursday. Plumes of smoke rose above treeline, buildings and high tension wires and could be seen for miles around while ash carried by the wind floated into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported and no homes were damaged. The fire was reported at 12:22 p.m. and the last company involved in battling the brush fire was cleared to return to quarters at 7:05 p.m., he said.
State investigation continues
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as the Villager went to press on Tuesday. “Because it was such a significant event we called in the State Fire Marshal’s office. They have two investigators that are working the case,” Tetreault said.
“They may be canvassing neighborhoods and asking questions to see if anyone saw anything. We don’t think it was spontaneous ignition and there have been no lightning storms, so that’s why we called them to see if they could determine a cause,” he added.
“The only structure that was destroyed was the observation tower at the end of Partridge Island,” Tetreault said. The preliminary investigation focused around the observation tower, he said.
“It’s gone. That was one of the first things destroyed in the fire,” the chief said. The platform stood on four posts about eight feet above the marsh. It provided a dry vantage point for nature lovers and bird watchers alike to enjoy the vast expanse of Reedy Meadow.
Access through the marsh to the site of observation tower, which is located about one-half mile off Main Street opposite Heritage Lane, is provided by a series of boardwalks that were originally built by LHS students during the town’s Bicentennial, according to the town’s Conservation Administrator Betty Adelson.
The boardwalks and the observation tower are maintained by the ConCom and funded mainly through the generosity of civic-minded donors, she said. Just last year one of the four posts supporting the observation tower was replaced because it was in danger of falling down, Adelson said.
“That boardwalk was a lifesaver getting out to the fire,” Tetreault said, adding that it “really made it easy hiking in. Had that not been there it would have taken a lot longer to get out to the fire, so that was really important for us. And down the road if the rail-trail is built it would make it that much easier to get out onto the tracks.”
SIXTY-FIVE ACRES burned last Wednesday in Reedy Meadow. Crews from 11 departments battled the massive brush fire for over six hours. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.(Maureen Doherty Photo)
Fire breaks main line of attack
“For the most part we let it burn to the edges and protected the houses,” Tetreault said, explaining that once the fire runs out of fuel it will go out on its own.
SMOKE FROM the five-alarm May 6 brush fire on the Lynnfield side of Reedy Meadow could be seen rising above the high tension wires from the end of Audubon Road in Wakefield. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
“We put a fire break around the fire. At Partridge Island that was the tactic because we could stop the fire on the island. We basically dig a path around the fire and then the fire runs out of fuel,” he said.
The standing water between the marsh and land also helped extinguish flames before any homes were threatened, he said. “Where we were was wet and the water is over your head in places,” Tetreault added.
However, some spot fires did flare up toward the end of the six and a half hour battle, which forced them to have firefighters go into the marsh to attack the fire. They brought a portable pump to the scene and used water out of the marsh to fight the fire.
“It was starting to take off on us again, so we put people in the marsh. We typically don’t do that but to do the final extinguishment we had to put people in the marsh,” Tetreault said.
This was the only point at which he felt some homes at the end of Partridge Lane were threatened. “We had a flare up that got us scrambling a little bit. But other than that I don’t believe there was ever any danger to any homes,” he said.
Wind coming from the south, while helping to fan the blaze, also did much to keep flames from spreading across the abandoned freight railroad tracks that cut through the meadow. If that had happened, according to Wakefield Fire Chief Michael Sullivan, hundreds of acres of the meadow would have been in jeopardy, stretching possibly as far as Audubon Road in Wakefield and MarketStreet Lynnfield.
Sullivan said, “The terrain out there is really treacherous. It’s wet, it’s mucky and you’re surrounded by cat-o’-nine-tails. One firefighter from the Forestry service was on the railroad tracks and took one step and was up to his chest in water. It’s so remote. You’re constantly chasing fire across the cat-o’-nine-tails. It is not a straight forward fire fight out there.”
During one of the final flare ups, Wakefield’s Engine 1 crew went to the end of Partridge Lane not far from the Wakefield line to help a North Reading crew keep flames from reaching the backyards of homes there. Flames did come to within about 100 yards of those properties, however, Sullivan said.
Early on in the firefight, the plan was to have local firefighters go up in the State Police helicopter to get a bird’s eye view of the fire and help plan their attack.
“By the time the police helicopter got there the fire was somewhat contained, so they did a couple of fly-bys and they didn’t feel it was necessary to send anyone up in the helicopter,” Tetreault said. Helicopters that were seen circling the town earlier in the day were from news outlets, he said.
Chief praises firefighters
Tetreault had nothing but praise for every firefighter who came to the town’s assistance. Whether they were from his own department or from the surrounding communities who provided mutual aid to Lynnfield, he said they all did an “outstanding job.”
“Our mutual aid companies were there when we needed them and helped us out. We had chiefs from other fire departments come in to help. We had a State Police helicopter give some reconnaissance. It was definitely a group effort and everybody did a great job,” Tetreault said. He was also glad to report that he did not believe they had any injuries.
As for the cost of battling the fire, Tetreault said that would be difficult to determine. “We don’t get charged for the mutual aid that comes in and it works both ways. When we go to another town we don’t charge them either, so it’s really a good cooperative but it’s really difficult to estimate the total cost,” he said.
