Hot Off the Press

Yesterday, after working very hard in the yard and in the house, I was just waking up from a little nap, when the phone rang.  I bounced off the couch to answer it and it was our neighbor, Buddy.  He asked me what all the ruckus was down our way.  I didn't understand what he was talking about until he told me that a "couple of fire trucks headed down that way and I can see smoke from my house."  I needed to hear no more.  I went out on the deck and sure enough, I could smell smoke although I couldn't see any.

Then, not five minutes passed when the phone rang again.  This time it was Lisa (aka VARunner from Two Bears Farm), who is only a hop, skip and jump, so to speak, from me.  "OK, JP, what's going on down your way?  I've seen two cars head down that way and turn around and come back.  There's a car parked down near the end of my driveway and I smell smoke.  So, it's either Charles & Grace's or Richards.  And I know you always have the scoop, you what's going on?"  In a nutshell, I told her to stay put with the boys, keep her eyes peeled, that I was going to walk down that way and that I would call her back. 

 Well, while I was on the phone with Lisa, Joe got on the ATV and headed down the road.  So, when I got down there, this is what I saw.  As soon as I got down there, Joe headed for home.  I guess he'd had enough excitement.

Not me, though, I wanted an interview!  So I picked the fella in the navy sweatshirt and did my thing.

The fire was up at the top of this small ridge which was only about 850 feet straight up.  The Volunteer Fire Fighter told me they had a hard time getting the hose up there (being straight up).  Then he told me that the smallest truck holds 350 gallons; the middle size truck holds 750 gallons; the big truck holds 2500 gallons.  If they ran out of water, they would go to the pond down the road to refill.

"See, the problem, when you live out here," he said, "is that there's no place to get water.  It's hard top pump from a creek unless you can dam it up.  Down at your place, we'd be able to draw off your holding tank on the mountain, but that's not a lot for a structure fire.  And, 350 gallons will only dampen the edges of a small brush fire."

I also learned that a brush fire doubles in size in ten minutes.  Oh, and speaking of...this fire was at that

house.  If you 're not familiar with my neighbors, take a quick peek at :  The Neighborhood-aka-The Good The Bad The Ugly

Meanwhile, can you see this fellow in the woods?

He was helping to guide and hold the hose that was spraying up above.

Needless to say, Buddy and Lisa were right.  It was at their house.  According to the fireman, they were told by the boys, who live there, that they were in the woods cutting trees and one of them rolled and got away from them.  That's how the fire started.  Now there's a tall tale if ever I heard one!  I wonder what they were smokin'?