Firefighter Hurt During Response To 3 Brushfires Along I-95

WESTPORT, CT — A Fairfield firefighter was injured while responding to one of three large, separate brushfires Wednesday along Interstate 95, according to fire officials.

The fires happened about 2:30 p.m., with the first reported along I-95 southbound at Exit 18, according to a news release from the Westport Fire Department. Firefighters then came across a second fire on the roadway's northbound side near Exit 19, the news release said, before finding a third fire 200 feet north of the second blaze.

The first fire included about 50-by-150 feet of brush, while the second involved about 75-by-200 feet of brush and marsh grass between the interstate and Metro North train tracks, the news release said.

The Fairfield Fire Department responded to the third fire, which was on an embankment along northbound I-95, according to Lt. Bob Smith, who said the blaze burned about 3 acres of swampland and was extinguished in less than an hour. A Fairfield firefighter was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering minor injuries during the response, Smith said.

Many engines and other emergency vehicles were called to the three fires. I-95 was closed briefly on the northbound side while Fairfield crews established a water supply, according to Smith. Connecticut State Police and the State Farm Safety Patrol assisted the Fairfield and Westport agencies, according to a Fairfield Fire Department news release.

The fire marshal's office responded to the scenes, but the cause of the fires remains under investigation, the Westport news release said. Smith said brush fires are more common in the summer when the weather is dry, but noted that the area has had a relatively dry winter. The Westport Fire Department advised drivers not to throw material from their vehicles that could ignite roadside brush.