Community Info Happenings Club News School Lunches Suppers Wish Lists Hon. Nearly 50 firefighters from 19 Seacoast departments responded to a four-alarm brush fire Wednesday afternoon that burned 5 to 6 acres of a densely wooded area about a mile off Ocean Road.
Firefighter finds broad way towards woods fire down railroad tracks.
At its strongest intensity, flames were shooting as high as 45 feet in the air, emitting plumes of grayish-brown smoke that reportedly could be seen as far away as Exeter. Durham, Dover and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard provided station coverage for the Portsmouth Fire Department. No injuries were reported, but a number of firefighters became dehydrated and suffered minor heat exhaustion battling the blaze in the humid, 90-degree weather. The location of the fire made it extremely difficult to access, Plummer said. We had to use the Ocean Road hydrants and shuttle water in with tankers.