| At 0612 hours, Avondale Fire Company was dispatched to the Earth Gro Inc. property off of Newark Road in New Garden Township for a reported mulch pile on fire.
Engine, Tanker, and Ambulance 23 responded shortly after dispatch with Chief 23 (Cole) and Utility 23 following behind. While responding, crews were notified of a 250-yard pile of mulch and wood fiber burning. Crews arrived to find said pile actively smoldering and workers on-site trying to break apart the mulch pile.
Crews from Engine 23 deployed a 150' bumper line and assisted with wetting down the mulch pile extinguishing flare-ups and cooling hot spots throughout while a loader tore the pile apart. Chief 23 established command and Tanker 23 assisted with filling the engine with water for the duration of the incident.
After some time, workers on-site used temperature probes to see how hot the mulch still was after almost an hour of tearing the pile apart and soaking it with water. The internal temperature was reading between 80 to just under 100 degrees. Once the property manager gave the "okay" to break down the operation, crews shut down the handline and wrapped it up with Chief 23 clearing command and all units just after an hour of being on the scene.
The incident was turned over to the property owners and crews cleared at 0733 hours. |
