ORLEANS – Firefighters called in several water tankers to douse an overnight brush fire in Orleans. Around midnight a resident reported seeing a fire. Crews responded to the area and found the brush burning on Horseshoe Lane. The tankers were called because there are no hydrants in that area. No injuries were reported. Further details were not immediately available.
From Orleans Fire-Rescue: Just after midnight on 29 January 2025, a 911 caller reported an unknown type fire visible in the Pleasant Bay /Quanset Road area. Due to the geography of the area and limited information, it was initially challenging locating the fire. A fire was found at the end of Horseshoe Lane along the banks of Pleasant Bay. Access to the fire was difficult, requiring several hundred feet of fire hose to be pulled through a wooded area and down a set of stairs to the waterfront. Additionally, due to no nearby fire hydrants, water had to be trucked in using tankers to supply the fire extinguishment. The material burning was found to be rolls of compressed coconut fibers used to prevent erosion. The area burning was 200 feet long by 25 feet wide. Firefighters have spent about 7 hours working to fully extinguish the materials. Due to the nature of the rolls, the fire is deep seated and hard to extinguish.
The cause of the fire is accidental due to a failure of a piece of nearby construction equipment.
There were no injuries and a contractor is working to remove the burned materials.
The Orleans Fire-Rescue Department would like to thank the alert citizen who initially spotted the fire as well as the Orleans Police Department for their assistance in locating the fire.
Additionally, thanks to the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center for coordinating the effort with our mutual partners from Eastham Fire Department, Harwich Fire Department, Brewster Fire Department, Chatham Fire Department, Truro Firefighters Local 5281 and West Barnstable Fire Department.
Photos by Orleans Fire-Rescue/CWN
