One of many brush fires across Connecticut happened Thursday afternoon on Edgewood Road in Berlin after a homeowner was burning brush and fire spread.
Authorities say a homeowner at 128 Edgewood Road thought the brush he’d burned was out. He turned around, and the next thing he knew fire had spread to his shed.
“If the winds were going the other way he could have lost a few more sheds, he could have lost his house, it could have spread to other neighbors homes and buildings, so yes hit’s a problem here but it could have been much worse," said Matt Odishoo, Berlin's Deputy Fire Marshal.
It took crews about 45 minutes to get the fire under control, but they remained on the scene for hours to deal with hot spots that spread to Southington Road.
Even though a long winter’s worth of snow just melted, the fire danger is still high.
“Just a few weeks ago the ground was white in Connecticut, but this time of year it’s really driven by the humidity where the leaves and the twigs dry out so quickly," said Chris Martin with DEEP.
Martin pointed out that because the soil is still wet underneath they don’t expect long drawn-out fires.
"Just quick flashy fires," he explained.
Experts warn to use common sense if you’re going to burn brush.
“If burning is allowed stay with the fire, if you’re with that fire and that fire is burning you should stay with it at all times, you should have a water source with you and not a bucket of water but actually some type of a garden hose or something you can use in case that fire gets away," Odishoo said.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection lists Thursday's fire danger as high and open burning is prohibited.
Firefighters have since left the scene, but the fire marshal was still there just before 5:30 p.m. investigating.
