WAREHAM – A large brush fire was reported in the area of Cardi’s furniture on Cranberry Highway (Route 6/28) in Wareham about 3 PM Wednesday. A brush truck from Bourne was called mutual aid to the scene. Meanwhile, firefighters in the Onset section of Wareham were at the scene of a significant gas leak on Bay Pointe Dr. Officials advised that Onset Avenue was closed from Robinwood Road to Route 6.
From Onset Fire: On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at approximately 2:53 pm, the Onset Fire Department received a call that a gas main had been struck during a road construction project. A first alarm assignment was dispatched, bringing Onset Engines 1&2, Onset Ladder 1, and Onset Tanker 1 to the scene. Chief of Department Jeffrey Osswald arrived on the scene and assigned units immediately to check homes in the surrounding area. As the significance of the event became evident, Chief Osswald requested two additional engines, bringing Wareham Engine 5 and Bourne Engine 121 to the scene. National Grid responded and was able to mitigate the leak within 90 minutes, and companies were released. There were no injuries and no damage to any of the surrounding properties.
While responding to the station to staff apparatus, Onset Fire Captain Gene Crocker noticed a large amount of smoke in the rear of 3005 Cranberry Highway. He reported the same, and an incident was started to investigate the cause. Wareham Fire Department Assistant Chief Patrick Haskell, who was responding to the gas leak, was diverted to the smoke investigation and, upon arrival, reported a large brush fire across the railroad tracks to the rear of the property. Wareham Fire had also received reports of the smoke and was already in the process of dispatching units to investigate. Assistant Chief Haskell promptly requested multiple Brush Breakers to respond and assumed Command of the Incident until the arrival of Onset Fire Assistant Chief Howard Andersen. The first arriving Brush Breaker, Wareham Breaker 401, encountered a fast-moving fire driven by strong winds and made more intense due to the extended period of dry weather conditions plaguing the area recently. As more resources arrived the fire attack progressed, and crews gained the upper hand. It took approximately 30 minutes to control the fire and several more hours to ensure complete extinguishment. The fire was declared out at 7:02 pm, and determined to have burned 5 acres. This fire was a perfect example of the excellent cooperation between agencies at large-scale incidents, as everyone on the scene operated in a well-coordinated seamless fashion. In total, 8 Brush Breakers, 2 Engines, 4 Chief Officers, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Incident Rehabilitation Unit responded.
Wareham Fire/CWN
From Wareham Fire: On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 17th, the Wareham Fire Department responded to assist the Onset Fire Department both with a gas leak in their district as well as a fast moving, wind driven brush fire, to the rear of Cranberry Plaza.
Engine 5 with the duty crew responded to the gas leak to assist. Assistant Chief Patrick Haskell responded initially to the gas leak but was then diverted to a possible brush fire behind Cardi’s.
Once on scene, C2 found the large fast moving brush fire and immediately established command and requested 4 breakers to the scene. Breakers 401 and 402 staffed with call back department members responded directly to the brush fire as well as Onset C2. Once on scene, command was transferred to Onset C2 and Wareham C2 became Operations.
WFD members assisted on the incidents for several hours before clearing back to the Wareham Fire District.
