ESSEX — A series of small brush fires leapt out of control this morning at the end of Haskell Court, but firefighters extinguished the blaze within an hour and without any injuries or property damage.
The call came to the Essex Police and Fire departments at 11:39 a.m., saying there was an "out-of-control brush fire" on land that part of the property of 32 Haskell Court.
The fires began as permitted controlled burns of logs and other debris on the property, fire officials said at the scene. The person who set the fires lit three burn sites, intending to supervise all of them at once.
"It was a bad call, trying to single-handedly do all of this himself," said Essex Fire Department Lt. Ernest Nieberle.
One of the sites grew out of control, spreading to nearby brush and then starting to climb a tree when the person at the scene called the Fire Department.
The owner of the property could face fines for allowing the fire to get out of control and for setting multiple controlled burns at the same time, but that decision is up to Fire Chief Daniel Doucette, according to officials at the scene.
The three log piles that were burned were not the only ones on the property; according to a person at the scene, there are more than 40 piles of debris for which the property owners have permits to burn.
Stephanie Bergman can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3451, or at sbergman@gloucestertimes.com.
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