Oxford Firefighters Knock Down Brush Fire in State Forest

Oxford firefighters extinguished a brush fire in the Naugatuck State Forest that burned about an acre-and-a-half on Friday.

Members of the Oxford Fire Department, a volunteer organization, responded around 3:15 p.m. to a wooded area near Seymour Reservoir No. 4 and knocked down the flames within about 45 minutes, Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier said. Nobody was injured.

Firefighters remained on scene until about 6 p.m. and soaked the area to make sure no embers were left. Firefighters responded with a large crew and sent two brush trucks, three tankers, one engine and two John Deere Gators to the scene. They entered the forest near Krystalle Lane, which is off of Chestnut Tree Hill Road. They found the fire about 500 feet into the woods, near the reservoir, Pelletier said. State forest officials will monitor the fire overnight to make sure it doesn't re-ignite. 

“Right now, we really don’t know the cause, but apparently there may have been some camp fires there recently and there were some motor bikes seen in the area,” Pelletier said. “But it’s still undetermined at this point.”

He said brush fire danger is extremely high because of the dry conditions. Strong winds on Friday helped propel the flames, too.

Although Pelletier doesn’t recommend that people ignite campfires, he said anyone who does should make sure the flames are truly extinguished. And, he said, people riding ATVs or dirt bikes need to make sure there are no sparks coming from their equipment.

“The conditions are very good now for brush fires to start real quick,” he said. “So people need to be very vigilant and safe.”