The Natick Fire Department joined by specialty units from five nearby communities contained a brush fire Tuesday night that spread across 6 acres at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary. The cause of the blaze is undetermined, though dry conditions and a breeze helped it spread.
According to Natick Fire Chief Jason Ferschke, NFD dispatched a crew to investigate a possible brush fire on South Street at around 7:45pm on Tuesday. The Engine 2 crew found an area of open field/meadow containing tall grass, about 250′ x 250′, on fire. “There was a mild breeze and with the extremely dry conditions the fire quickly grew to approximately 6 acres in size,” Ferschke said.
Engine 2 requested support, which included crews in four other Natick vehicles, plus aid from Sherborn, Dover, Framingham, Wayland, and Hopkinton. The state’s Department of Conservation & Recreation’s fire service was also on the scene.
“Crews were able to contain the fire along the wood line with minimal extension into the dense wooded areas. Crews were on scene until after midnight and were back on scene this morning addressing hotspots,” Ferschke said. “I credit a great mutual aid system with tremendous teamwork for containing this to 6 acres and preventing it from extending further into the sanctuary.”
We reached out to Broadmoor to find out if any programs or services will be affected by the fire, but did not hear back. The outfit posted on its site that no large trees, bird houses, or trails were affected.
Broadmoor fire (photo courtesy of Natick Fire Department)