Photos: Fighting a field fire
— Photo from Sean Maguire, Westmere Fire Department
On the job: Volunteers put out a fire near Farnsworth Middle School, called in just after 5 p.m. on Monday. No buildings were in danger and no injuries were reported. So as not to damage the playing field with a heavy full-size fire truck, Westmere requested outdoor fire equipment from the Fort Hunter and Guilderland Center departments. Crews using small trucks and all-terrain vehicles had the fire under control in about half-an-hour with less than an acre affected. Here, David Sim and Tyler Reinemann, from Guilderland Center, stand, in foreground, near a brush truck while, behind the truck, Michael Koff, from Westmere, checks for hot spots.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Scorched earth: A 300-foot swath was burned near a baseball field at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland on Monday evening. In response to claims that youth had been seen near the site of the fire before it started, Captain Curtis Cox with the Guilderland Police said Tuesday, “Kids may have been in the area at the time but that was nothing related to the fire.” Officials from the Westmere Fire Department sent out a notice reminding people to be cautious when conditions are dry and stating that local regulations restrict outdoor fires and open burning all year. “Where small outdoor fires are permitted for cooking,” the notice said, “it is important to have immediate access to an extinguishing agent appropriate for the fire.”