By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Volunteer firefighters converged on a burning field Monday afternoon and put the blaze out in record time.
Firefighters from Jefferson, Whetstone, and Liberty townships responded to a report of a field fire beside 1501 State Route 602, just south of the U.S. 30 ramp. The fire burned corn stubble in a field between homes on that road and nearly reached the yard north of the field.
“We don’t know how it started yet,” stated Jefferson Fire Chief Rory Furr. “It could have been somebody driving by and flicked a cigarette butt out and it could have rolled. It could have been anything.”
Though the fire was located in Whetstone Township, Furr said the call had mistakenly been transferred to his department. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department called in assistance from the Whetstone and Liberty fire departments.
“We’re not going to leave; we’re going to take care of it,” Furr said about being called in despite the fire not being located in Jefferson Township. “We work together.”
The field, which was filled with corn before being harvested,was sprayed with water and put out within 15 minutes.
The call originally came from Keith Eichhorn, who owns the land and serves as the Whetstone Township fire chief.