WESTPORT — Firefighters dispatched to battle a “deep-seated” fire in a mulch pile Saturday morning, were forced to deploy operations onto Interstate 95 to get best access to the blaze.
The mulch fire on Post Office Lane was reported shortly after 6:15 a.m. Saturday.
Engine 5, Engine 2, Truck 1 and the shift commander were initially sent to the scene, where flames and smoke were billowing from the pile, according to the report by Assistant Fire Chief Brian Meadows.
After fire crews first to arrive reported there was limited access to the site, officials determined the best access to the fire would be from I-95 northbound, between exits 18 and 19.
Engine 2 and Truck 1 were re-deployed to the highway, joined by Truck 4, according to the report. Firefighters extended a tower-ladder, using Truck 1’s bucket to pour water onto the fire below.
Because there was no nearby fire hydrant, firefighters used water pumped from a shuttle of fire-tanker trucks sent to the scene, including trucks from the Weston and Wilton fire departments.
Two lanes of I-95 northbound were closed to traffic while firefighters were on the highway. State Police troopers were called to the scene to help manage traffic flow around firefighting operations.
All fire units cleared the scene by 8:11 a.m., according to the report.
Was this a town owned pile of mulch? How could Public Works and the Fire Department allow this? Spontaneous Combustion in mulch piles is a well known phenomenon.