Illegal burning sets Williams Road brush fire

Firefighters from eight companies aided the Chester department.. Photos by Shawn Cunningham. Click photo to launch the gallery.

By Shawn Cunningham

The Chester Fire Department and eight other departments responded to a brush fire on Williams Road early Sunday afternoon. The fire, which covered approximately 2 acres, began when an illegal burn got out of control.

“The conditions are very dry at this time of year,” said Chester Fire Chief Matt Wilson. “People shouldn’t be burning – especially on a windy day – without a permit.”

A pumper shoots water on the ground blaze.

Wilson also noted that only proper materials should be burned and that Sunday’s fire was especially hazardous because it involved improper materials like plastics, and paint and aerosol cans that exploded, endangering firefighters.

The owner of the property was cited by the Chester fire warden for the illegal burn, Wilson said. Williams Road branches off Nudist Camp Road in the Popple Dungeon area.

According to Chief Wilson, the call came in around 1 p.m. and was finished on the scene around 3:30 with the cleanup at the station done by 5 p.m. In addition to Chester, the Rockingham, Windham, Springfield, Proctorsville, Ludlow, Londonderry, Walpole, N.H., and Charlestown, N.H., departments also sent equipment and firefighters.

Smoke rises from the ground fire Sunday.

About 50 firefighters worked the blaze. The Londonderry Fire Department covered the Chester fire station during the fire.

Chester Fire Chief Wilson, center, directs firefighters during Sunday’s 2-acre brush fire.