Saturday, the Palatine Fire Department was called for a brush fire in the Cook County Forest Preserve area roughly bordered by Lake-Cook Road and Rand Road. Setting up on Dee Road which is west of Rand off Lake-Cook, Palatine’s Battalion 8 arrived with Engine 82 and Lake Zurich Engine 4. They found fire burning in tall grass through an area which is largely marshland with almost two feet of soggy ground covering much of the area.
These conditions prevented the use of brush rigs and access was gained on foot until the Cook County Forest Preserve District Wildland Team arrived. Several pickups with skid-mounted-units came to the scene along with an ATV equipped with a small tank and booster line.
Lake Zurich Engine 4 responded auto-aid to the brush fire. They were on a hydrant with a hose line of several hundred feet leading into the grass. Larry Shapiro photo
The Palatine and Lake Zurich companies stretched several hundred feet of attack line to hit what they could reach and to protect potential residential and commercial exposures.
Larry Shapiro spent a couple of hours at the scene and submitted several images.
Members of the Cook County Forest Preserve District Wildland team head into the brush. Larry Shapiro photo
The fire was in a big field that largely consisted of muddy marsh lands. Larry Shapiro photo
A firefighter uses a small line off the ATV unit to wet down the grass that has not yet ignited. Larry Shapiro photo
High winds fueled the flames which continued to rage into the evening hours. Larry Shapiro photo
Heavy winds complicated extinguishing the flames and constantly pushed the fire to new fuel. After Palatine had committed all of their suppression companies to the scene and they had been working the incident for over three hours, they initiated a MABAS Brush Fire Box Alarm for additional personnel to the scene and for others to cover their town.
Low humidity, extremely dry conditions, and high winds combined to create ideal conditions for brush or wildland fires. Larry Shapiro photo
As the fire grew in intensity, additional units were requested to the scene to ensure that the fire did not communicate to any structures. Larry Shapiro photo
The fire spread to the east and threatened a number of businesses along Rand Road. Larry Shapiro photo
Palatine Engine 82 was one of five units positioned on the property of a car dealership at Rand Road and Lake-Cook Road. Seen here on a hydrant, Engine 82 was supplying Quint 81 which had 800-feet of attack line stretching into the wooded and grassy area. Larry Shapiro photo
Firefighters were able to prevent communication to any structures and struck out the box alarm shortly after 10PM.
More images will be available in a gallery on Sunday as well as a video from the scene.
