Brush fire in Richmond prompts burn reminders from officials

Very quickly, a brush fire consumed two acres of land in rural west Ottawa last week.

According to Ottawa Fire Services (OFS), they were called at 2:20 p.m. to the 6000 block of Mansfield Road, a street on the edge of Stittsville and Richmond. When they got there, a brush fire was visible and was spreading due to the heavy winds.

Crews used hoses on the outside of the blaze. Due to the area, there were no hydrants available, so teams had to truck in water. Bill Bell, Sector Chief with OFS, told CityNews that this was a typical call for teams at this time of year.

“That wasn’t overly dramatic for us,” he said. “Basically, a farmer who had a burn permit, was burning and some sparks flew away and started the grass on fire.”

About 20 minutes after the call to OFS, teams had the fire under control with no injuries reported. They stayed on scene to extinguish hot spots and avoid any flare-ups until 3:47 p.m.

“These grass fires, especially in the spring, are the most challenging or most frequent for us,” Bell said.

Environment Canada’s drought conditions show that parts of Ottawa are abnormally dry. Bell said that crews don’t look at the precipitation and instead monitor the “green up” of grass. He said that in the spring grass growing from the winter could have a green base but it is the tip of the blades that could cause fires.

A common misconception for the public is that if their lawn is wet or there has been a lot of rain in the forecast, there can’t be a burn ban in place. Bell said that bans can be in place depending on the fuel on the ground.

“The tips of the grass that are still dry and is what causes that rolling fire,” he said.

Bell said he wants people to learn more about burning in the spring, to prevent any blazes from getting out of control. FireSmart Canada provides help to homeowners hoping to fireproof their yards and houses.

There are a few challenges firefighters could experience when responding to calls such as the one in Richmond. One of the issues is the trucks not being able to reach the fire due to the wet ground. That’s why OFS has smaller fire apparatuses like brush trucks and UTVs.

Wind speed and heat in the summer are two other challenges impacting the firefighters tackling blazes in Ottawa.

“People need to always monitor the fire that they light,” Bell said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a campfire or a large agricultural burn.”