Saugus fire chief: Be careful not to cause brush fires

SAUGUS – Dry and windy weather conditions are making local communities prone to brush fires, and the Saugus Fire Department is cautioning residents to be aware of their actions.Fire Chief Donald McQuaid said Saugus had quite a few brush fires in the last week, including two on Thursday. Firefighters responded to what turned out to be a “brush and mulch” fire near Hannaford?s off of Route 1 around 3 p.m., and then again at 4:46 p.m. to the Golden Hills playground area. Another brush fire occurred in Salem off of Highland Avenue behind Walmart Thursday.?With the dry and windy conditions, it dries everything out,” said McQuaid. “Once you put wind into it, the brush fire takes off.”McQuaid said “traditionally” the firefighters see an increase of outside fires when Saugus students are on April vacation. “I can?t 100 percent say that it?s the kids doing it,” laughed McQuaid, “but over the years it seems that when the kids are on spring vacation we see a lot of brush fires.”McQuaid said it was also caused by drivers flicking smoking cigarettes into the grass.When asked if residents could do anything to decrease the risk of a brush fire, McQuaid said mostly they should take care not to throw anything out that?s smoking, and watch their gas grills closely.?People just need to be careful and think about what they?re doing,” said McQuaid.