EAST HAVEN, Conn. -- Fire crews Friday afternoon extinguished a heavy brush fire in a residential area and quickly determined its cause after a local mother confirmed to fire authorities that her son had been playing with a lighter nearby.
According to Chief Doug Jackson, the youth activated the lighter on Getty Road in a wetlands area near phragmites plants, burned his hand, dropped the lighter and ran home.
Phragmites, an invasive plant species of tall, thick reeds, "burn like crazy," Jackson said, and produce thick, black smoke similar to that of an oil tank fire, which is why the department got several calls around 3 p.m. reporting the fire. The boy's mother also reported what her son did to the Fire Department because he told her about the incident when he arrived home, and witnesses also spoke with fire authorities, Jackson said.
It took firefighters and three fire engines about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which was within 10 feet of a garage, across the street from a daycare, and within 30 to 40 feet from where school buses are parked. The fire burned an acre or two of phragmites, Jackson said.
No nearby buildings sustained damage, but about six feet of a vinyl fence was destroyed. No injuries were reported.
The teenager will now be involved in the "juvenile fire starter program," in which a firefighter certified to work with youths will meet with the boy and discuss the consequences of playing with lighters and setting fires, Jackson said. The boy was also lectured by fire officials Friday.
"I don't think he meant to do what he did," Jackson said. "This kid could have gotten burned, lit all these buildings up. I explained all that to him."
Copyright 2012 - New Haven Register, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
