NEWS

Fire scorches Parsippany school field

William Westhoven
@WWesthoven
Parsippany firefighters spread water on a brush fire on a Brooklawn Middle School field Wednesday in Parsippany.

PARSIPPANY One day before classes begin, Parsippany firefighters were dispatched to Brooklawn Middle School Wednesday to extinguish a brush fire that scorched a ball field.

The fire began somewhere near the middle of the lower ball field at Brooklawn, about 250 yards from the back wall of the school building, and burnt several acres of the field. The fire spread from there to the tree-lined edge of the approximately 4-acre property, heavily charring the brush underneath the trees.

"Looks like it might have been started by an unattended or misused campfire in the middle of the field, but we're going to let the fire investigators investigate that," said Lake Parsippany District 3 Capt.Russell Prokop, whose volunteer squad was first to arrive on the scene about 4 p.m.

Parsippany District 6 also responded, along with Par-Troy Emergency Medical Services and township police.

"When we got here, there were flames in the woods, flames on the field, and we realized we were going to need some additional water due to the length from the fire hydrant, so we called in our mutual aid company," Prokop said.

District 6 brought its 600-gallon tanker to the scene, which firefighters tapped into to quickly get the fire under control.

"We got a good knockdown on it pretty quick," Prokop said.

Responders remained on the scene past 5 p.m., continuing to spread water on the field. No injuries were reported. Parsippany EMS brought water bottles to hydrate the firefighters on a hot, humid afternoon.

Sixth-grade students reported to Brooklawn for for orientation Wednesday morning, but no students or staff were visible at the field during the response.

Classes begin Thursday throughout the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com