New England Public Radio

Firefighter Jesse Hanecek uses a device called an Alidade connected to a circular map, to calculate the location of a possible brush fire.
(Photo Credit: Adam Frenier for NEPR)

As Flames Blaze On, Massachusetts Firefighters Keep Watch From Towers

PELHAM, Mass.

This year in Massachusetts, there have been about 650 brush fires, burning through 550 acres.

The state’s fire warden says the peak fire season is running later than usual. That’s because it got a late start after the long winter.

The Massachusetts firefighters busy battling those flames are assisted by eyes in the sky: observers in the state’s network of fire towers looking for the first signs of a blaze.