No injuries in Dewey brush fire; weekday response thin for fire crews

By Brandi Makuski

DEWEY — No one was injured in a brush fire near County Road DB and Interstate 39 on Tuesday, which burned about five acres on a high fire danger day.

The Dewey fire chief says a lack of available firefighters during the workday is becoming a growing concern.

The fire broke out around 1 p.m. on the southwest corner of DB and I-39 and ran uphill toward the southbound on-ramp, according to Chief Brian Lepper. It began as a controlled burn on April 8 that got out of hand.

“It burned right up to the on-ramp,” Lepper said. “It was starting to push south when I got there — we might have had two-foot flames, but I don’t know how big they were before that.”

No structures were damaged, and crews were able to contain the fire using a combination of water and a fire line cut by DNR equipment. The DNR also deployed an aircraft to help monitor the fire’s movement and direct suppression efforts on the ground.

The property owner was cited by the DNR for burning outside the permitted hours, Lepper said, and may be responsible for covering the cost of the agency’s response.

Dewey’s response, however, was limited, and Lepper said only seven of the department’s firefighters were able to respond to the call.

Lepper said most of the department’s younger members are unavailable during weekday hours due to job restrictions, and employers are generally unwilling to let staff leave for fire calls.

“I don’t know of a single employer in Portage County that lets people go and pays them,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t know of a single employer that even has a policy to let people go.”

The department called for assistance from the Hull Fire Department and had EMS on standby as a precaution due to the age of some responders.

The fire occurred on a permit-required day, when burns are only allowed after 6 p.m.