By Jennifer Mann
The Patriot Ledger
WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A Weymouth firefighter was sent to the hospital Wednesday after falling from a fire truck and suffering a head injury.
The unnamed firefighter was battling a brush fire on conservation land off Cara Drive in Weymouth when the accident occurred Wednesday morning. He was on top of the truck adding foam to the water, which helps the water seep into the ground where brush fires smolder, Deputy Chief Rick Chase said.
The firefighter, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, was getting down from the top of the truck when he slipped, Chase said. The firefighter was taken to South Shore Hospital by Fallon Ambulance Service.
The fire department did not release the name of the firefighter Wednesday because attempts to reach his family were still being made.
Firefighters had been battling the brush fire for two days. It was the third such problem in the Bradford Torrey Bird Sanctuary this season, Chase said.
In May, firefighters spent four hours fighting a windswept brush fire that burned a couple of acres of land. They returned 2½ weeks ago to fight a fire that affected a 6-acre area.
This week, the fire encompassed 8 acres, and firefighters spent more than five hours battling it each day.
“It just has a habit of popping up,” said Chase, who was one of nine firefighters on the scene. “It’s hard to tell whether someone might have lit another area of it this time, or if it crawled underground.”
Brush fires can be difficult to control, because they travel underground, burning peat and roots, he said. Dry and windy conditions, which existed Tuesday, can increase the chance of a problem.
The state Bureau of Forest Fire Control, which has lookout towers in the area, alerted the department to the most recent fire, Chase said.
Bob Evans, who lives in one of the townhouses on Cara Drive, said the brush fire was 200 yards from the residences. Firefighters have become a familiar sight in the neighborhood, parking an engine in the circular drive and setting up a tent. EMTs manning the tent have handed out water and wet cloths to firefighters working in the forest.
Chase said battling brush fires can be strenuous and dangerous. In addition to extreme heat and rough terrain, firefighters have to deal with the possibility of the ground collapsing under them.
Copyright 2010 The Patriot Ledger