Woods off golf course catch fire, golfers play through

Fairfield, Conn. (WTNH) -- Firefighters were on the scene battling a brush fire in the woods off a golf course in Fairfield Tuesday.

The fire was called in around 4:45 p.m., in a wooded area off the 15th tee of the H. Smith Richardson golf course, on Hoydens Hill Rd.

No buildings were involved and no one was injured, but it wasn't the easiest fire to fight.

"Well initially it was, there was a lot of fire," said Asst. Chief Douglas Chavenello, "it was up to the tops of trees, but once we got some hand lines in and at least got it confined then it bought us time."

They drove the fire trucks as close as they could, but had to get through the trees and heavy underbrush to get at it, and of course, there were no fire hydrants there.

"It took us a little while, yeah," said Chavenello, "you can see how much, we probably got out 1,500, 2,000 feet of hose."

It was quite a sight for those out enjoying a day on the links.

"You could see the smoke coming up from...we were on the 6th hole," said Steven Classy, "you could see the fire trucks driving by, there were probably about four or five fire trucks."

Huge plumes of smoke and the pungent smell of burning wood were not enough to keep the true golfers away, and the firefighters let them play through.

The golfers weren't an issue, but the conditions were. It's been so dry that with the added strong wind, the brittle twigs kept re-igniting.

"Yeah, guess it's a good thing that they got there quick enough," said Classy.

It's not clear what started the fire. Several discarded cigarette butts were found on the green, but firefighters say it's hard to tell what would have sparked the fire with it being so deep in the woods.

"Could be anything, you know," Chavenello said. "I wouldn't even try and speculate, I mean, I don't think it was natural causes, but beyond that, I wouldn't even try and speculate."