LYNN — Firefighters extinguished a brush fire at a 20-foot by 20-foot homeless encampment on the Lynnway Monday afternoon.
At approximately 1:43 p.m., firefighters responded to reports of smoke rising through the trees at the empty 810 Lynnway lot. Upon arrival, firefighters saw flames rising from the encampment.
“It was a homemade structure,” Fire Lieutenant Ed Power said. “They’ve got furniture in there.’
Three fire engines and one fire ladder truck responded to the scene. The lot’s fire hydrant was broken, forcing the department to use tank water from multiple vehicles, according to District Fire Chief Thomas Hines.
“That’s why we got so many people here,” he said, noting that the department had to use water from a truck on the other side of the Lynnway.
Hines said that homeless camps along the Lynnway are a common occurrence.
“We’ve got a bunch of them here. They used to be over on that side where they cut down the grass, cut down all the trees, and then there’s some [camps] behind the Walmart too,” Hines said.
While the fire is currently under investigation, District Fire Chief Joseph Zukas said that it appears to be “accidentally caused.”
“The cause of the fire is accidental. The homeless people were just trying to stay warm,” Zukas said.
Zukas said that he recommends the land owner cut down the site’s trees and brush to avoid another fire in the future.
“Across the highway near Starbucks, there used to be an extensive homeless compound that is no longer there because the owner of the land cut down all the trees and brush,” he said. “It would be our recommendation that whoever owns this land, where the fire was today, do the same to reduce the chance of another fire in this area.”
