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Colwell, Floyd departments douse field fire

  • Colwell firefighters put out a field fire Wednesday afternoon northeast of Charles City. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Colwell firefighters put out a field fire Wednesday afternoon northeast of Charles City. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Members of the Floyd Fire Department use a modified four-wheel-drive unimog vehicle to spray water on a field where a back-burn got out of control Wednesday afternoon. Floyd Fire Chief Ben Chatfield said the department modified the former military vehicle to add a water tank and sprayer. Press photo by Bob Steenson

  • Colwell firefighters put out a field fire Wednesday afternoon northeast of Charles City. Press photo by Bob Steenson

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — An attempt to practice fire safety turned around Wednesday afternoon when a field fire got out of control and threatened adjoining property.

Colwell and Floyd fire departments responded to a call a little before noon Wednesday at 1884 Triumph Avenue, just northeast of Charles City. The property is owned by Paul and Patricia Heddens.

Colwell Fire Chief Lon Isakson said the property owner was attempting to back-burn around a plot of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres.

“At some point he has to burn off that ground,” Isakson said. “He was trying to make a firebreak so it wouldn’t go beyond and it got out of control.”

The Colwell Fire Department responded to the call, and it has an automatic mutual aid agreement with the Floyd Fire Department in this type of situation to bring water, Isakson said.

The fire wasn’t a direct threat to life or property, he said, adding that it’s easier to handle that type of call when you have time to slow down and assess the situation.

“This time of year can fool you,” Isakson said. “We’ve had a wet spring and things are turning green, but there is a lot of fuel there. The undergrowth and dead foliage is very dry and burns quickly.”

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