Nov. 17--COLUMBUS -- Columbus firefighters worked into the night to battle a grass fire that spread to a mountain of decaying wooden pallets and threatened to ignite nearby propane tanks.
Firefighters responded to the 3:51 p.m. blaze in a field in the 1100 and 1200 blocks just west of Third Avenue, fighting flames that rose above tree levels.
Strong shifting winds from the south and east sent gray smoke billowing northwest and could easily be seen from 23rd Street.
Columbus Fire officials were busy at the scene this evening and could not provide any details on the owners of the property or the cause of the fire.
Firefighters wearing oxygen tanks and spraying water from hoses were working to contain the blaze and douse hot spots that threatened to spread to propane tanks stored at Ferrelgas Inc., 1184 Third Ave., and a nearly Sapp Bros. gasoline tank.
One pumper trunk was parked along a gravel road bordering the field, while a second was nearer the flames, attached to a feeder hose snaking to a Third Avenue fire hydrant. An ambulance was on standby nearby.
"We probably got pretty lucky," said Don Otte, owner of Otte Electric, standing outside his contracting business located next door to Ferrelgas.
At 6 p.m., Otte wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon.
"I'll be here awhile," said Otte, smiling and glancing over at the pile of pallets within touching distance of the Ferrelgas propane tanks.
