On Sunday October 17th around 1750 hours, Engine 151 (Navy Base, Capt. Wells) noticed a large column of smoke in the distance behind the station. They notified Communications and a local alarm was dispatched bringing Company 1. Engine 151 and Safety Officer 1 (P. O'Connor) arrived in the area of 10th Street and Chesapeake Avenue and notified Chief 1 (Freesland) that it would be a long distance back into the woods. This area (Upper Bennett Farm) is at least 100 acres and is regularly run because kids are constantly setting the woods on fire. Chief 1 advised to start the Brush Assignment.
Brush 6 (F/F Cooper), and Tanker 6 (F/F RJ Rountree) along with Company 5 were alerted to the call. Units arrived on the scene several minutes later and found a vacant tenant house several hundred yards in the woods fully involved and apparently had been burning for several hours. The fire was quickly extinguished and units returned to service at 1908 hours.
