Shelton firefighters spent about an hour Thursday afternoon knocking down a brush fire in an isolated patch of woods off Nells Rock Road.
There were no injuries.
Crews were first dispatched to the area about 2:30 p.m.
“We were coming in off Nells Rock and could see a pretty large header of smoke in the area,” Shelton Fire Department Assistant Chief Paul Wilson said at the scene. “We were trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from.”
A Google Map showing where Holy Ghost Park is located. The brush fire was in the area to the north of the marker.
The fire, which he estimated at about two acres in size, was on private property about a quarter-mile hike into the woods from the park.
Windy, dry conditions meant the danger of the fire spreading easily was high, Wilson said.
And the terrain — wooded, sloping land — meant firefighters couldn’t just drive a fire engine right up.
So they did what they could with the water they could carry.
“We utilized several water can fire extinguishers, and that didn’t really get us very far,” Wilson said.
While the water was on the way, firefighters used rakes to knock down what flames they could and create a “break” to separate the fire from more burning more leaves and trees.
But “with the winds it was virtually impossible,” Wilson said.
Eventually two “brush trucks” navigated their way through the woods, Wilson said, from which firefighters could stretch hose.
They were also to hook up to a hydrant at Falmouth Drive and Nells Rock Road.
“Once we did that, I’d say within about a half-hour, 40 minutes, we had a good knock on it,” Wilson went on. “The guys really worked hard to get at it. It was pretty difficult.”
EMS were also stationed in the area in case anyone was injured while fighting the blaze in the difficult terrain.
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About 35 firefighters from all four of the city’s volunteer fire companies responded and were at the scene until about 5 p.m.
Crews from Derby covered downtown Shelton during the fire.
Fire Marshal James Tortora said Thursday afternoon that the fire would probably be ruled undetermined, “unless something comes up.”
Tortora said he didn’t think the fire was connected to an earlier spate of roadside brush fires in November, December, and January that authorities believe were set intentionally.
