NEW SCOTLAND — A small purposeful brush fire got out of control Tuesday morning, and three fire crews were called in to manage the blaze as it crept toward a house on Route 156.
"It’s a bad time of year to burn," Dan Coons, a first lieutenant with the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department told The Enterprise Tuesday afternoon; he was the first to arrive on the scene.

There are no burning regulations in the town of New Scotland, Coons said; it’s an open-burn town, but he strongly recommends not burning this time of year.
"It’s a very dry season right now," he said. There hasn’t been snow on the ground to add any moisture either, he said. Coons suggested waiting to do a burn after a rain.

At 616 Altamont Road a homeowner was burning old tree stumps and logs, and, with the wind, and a lot of leaves covering the ground, the fire progressed up a hill and toward the house, Coons said. The call came into the fire station at 10:55 a.m., Coons said.

The fire never did reach the residence and no one was injured. There was a concern of danger, but the fire was put out before any actual harm was done, Coons said.

People should remember to not just clear a spot for the fire, but clear the surrounding ground, Coons said.

The fire got as large as one acre and took about two hours to put out completely but was under control after 20 minutes, Coons said.

Burners should have a water supply readily available near their burn site so the property owner can start hosing the fire until the fire departments can arrive, Coons said.

Voorheesville’s and Altamont‘s volunteer fire departments were also called in for support. Three fire trucks full of water and one brush truck was emptied to extinguish the last ember.