Three Local Departments Battle 15-Acre Grass Fire

Three fire departments in northern Fayette County battled a swiftly-moving grass fire Thursday afternoon, Dec. 12.

Carmine Volunteer Fire Department got the call around 1:30 p.m. reporting a grass fire in the 1200 block of Carmine Cemetery Rd. According to Asst. Chief B.J. Finke of Carmine VFD, workers at the site were building a metal pipe and net wire fence. He said a cutting torch dropped some sparks on the dry grass, which quickly spread from the strong wind.

“The wind was blowing hard and the fire was moving fast,” Finke said. “It was in some pretty thick coastal (grass). There were a lot of structures and old vehicles in the area. We kept the fire away from all that.”

Carmine VFD called for assistance from the Ledbetter and Round Top-Warrenton Volunteer Fire Departments. Finke said just under 20 firefighters and eight fire trucks assisted with the blaze.

Finke said the firefighters had the blaze contained in about an hour. They remained on scene “mopping up” until around 4:30 p.m.

“We stayed out there a while because there was a lot of debris and rotted trees smouldering,” he said.

About 15 acres of pasture burned. Firefighters were able to save all the structures and vehicles in the area.