Firefighters Battle Brush Fire Southeast Of Fairbury, Display Training And Teamwork

Multiple emergency crews were called to the scene of a brush fire at southeast of Fairbury near 706 Road and 569 Avenue Saturday afternoon, June 28, at approximately 1:45 p.m. The fire began as a controlled burn. The dangerously hot weather that has plagued the area for the past several days made fighting the blaze especially grueling. Fairbury Rural Fire Chief Judd Stewart recalled, “What was crazy, was how volatile the live fuels were in this area. We had 15 mph (miles per hour) winds that were carrying embers out ahead of the fire over 200 feet, causing spot fires to start. This makes for what could be a very dangerous situation that can cause firefighters to be completely surrounded by fire in no time.”“This particular was a call for a brush/grass fire in rough terrain with timber fuels surrounding the fire area. The fire was on a day with 93° air temp, 73° dew point which gave us a RH (Relative Humidity) of 53 percent and a heat index of 102°. First arriving units advised heavy fire with limited access, so a call was made for mutual aid from two departments. Initial attack was made to stop the spread of the fire,” said Judd. Jansen Rural Fire and Diller Fire and Rescue soon arrived on the scene, along with Jefferson and Saline County Emergency Management.Judd said, “With the help of Diller Fire and Jansen Fire, we were able to successfully stop the advancing fire before it spread into a heavily wooded area. It took about two hours of working in rough terrain and high heat to get the fire mostly contained. We were then left with a creeping fire working through a stand of tall cedars that were on the edge of the burned area we needed to control. Knowing we wouldn't be able to stop the creeping fire effectively, the decision was made to put in a hand dug line for about 8 chains, or about 530 feet, to tie the black burned area back into the black with secure anchor points, surrounding the cedar stand. This would let the fire do what it was and creep slowly along the ground. This handline would need to be about three foot wide dug down to bare mineral soil. Given the time of day and the speed the fire was moving, we knew we would be seeing good recovery of relative humidity to slow the fire even more by the time the fire crept through. Once it would hit that containment line, it would burn itself out. All three departments that were there came together and knocked this out in just a matter of minutes. Each person knew what to do and they worked very well together, just like we are all trained to do.” Judd credited training not just for the efficiency in which the firefighters contained the blaze but in how well different fire departments worked together.“This is a testament to the hours all the volunteers in the county have been putting in with training, and particularly the NWCG (National Wildfire Coordinating Group) wildland fire training. When the departments all get the same training, we can come together as one team and integrate seamlessly to complete tasks,” said Judd. “Fires like this really drive home the importance of getting this essential training. As we’ve noticed over the last several years, our fires aren’t burning the same as they did five or 10 years ago. I am very proud of Fairbury Rural Fire Department as well as the rest of the departments in this county, and even within our mutual aid district. They recognize the importance of the wildland training. Not so much for the tactics, but for the emphasis on safety that these classes focus on. We had some worn-out firefighters by the end of the day, but everyone was safe, and were able to recognize the signs of extreme fire behavior and adjust their tactics accordingly. We held the fire at around 10 acres instead of letting it spread well beyond that point. Thank you to all the departments that were on scene to help and the other departments that reached out to tell me they had people and apparatus available to send immediately if we needed them.”

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