20-Foot Tall Brush Pile Burns in Coventry Cemetery

Coventry firefighters battled yet another brush fire on Monday, this time at Greenwood Cemetery for a 20-foot pile of brush that caught fire.

Members of the Central Coventry Fire District arrived to find the pile of brush burning and the fire beginning to spread to surrounding vegetation thanks to a steady wind.

Crews had to work around a lack of direct water supply and additional engines were called to provide water. A backhoe from the cemetery was used to break up the pile and firefighters used foam to get control of the fire.

Smoke from the fire traveled beyond the borders of the Central Coventry Fire District and crews from the Coventry Fire District, Hopkins Hill Fire District and the Providence Canteen responded to provide assistance.

Station coverage and mutual aid was provided by the West Warwick and East Greenwich Fire Departments.

Some of the firefighters at the scene were working though they haven’t seen a paycheck in three weeks. The cash-strapped Coventry Fire District, also known as the Anthony Fire District, has been unable to make payroll and the union has filed a Superior Court complaint against the district for the lack of pay and other decisions made by the board leading up to the bank account drying up.

Firefighters in Coventry battled a brush fire just five days ago fueled by extremely dry conditions. At that fire, all of the town’s fire districts responded to put out the stubborn blaze.

Photo courtesy: Central Coventry Fire District