Firefighters battled a brush fire that erupted next to a local stretch of Interstate 95, and jumped nearby railroad tracks, before burning an acre and a half Thursday afternoon. / Photos, Westport Fire Department

WESTPORT — A quick-moving brush fire Thursday afternoon off Interstate 95 — which forced suspension of train service on nearby tracks — burned an acre and a half before being extinguished by firefighters.

The blaze, reported about 1:45 p.m. Thursday, was spreading as firefighters arrived on the scene off I-95, between northbound Exits 18 and 19, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jeffrey Gootman.

The blaze jumped both sides of the railroad tracks, causing Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak to suspend service as firefighters fought the flames.

Assisting Westport fire crews, water tankers from the Wilton and Weston fire departments were dispatched to the highway side of the fire, and Fairfield firefighters helped extinguish flames on the opposite side of the tracks.

Cause of the fire was not immediately known, according to Gootman.

Firefighters were mobilized from several communities to help Westport fire crews battle a brush fire that erupted Thursday afternoon next to Interstate 95, between northbound Exits 18 and 19.

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