LYMAN, Maine — On Thursday, the community of Sanford experienced a second-alarm structure fire that kept local fire departments on their toes.
As crews rushed to contain the fire, more calls flooded in, a common occurrence during this time of the year.
"Not long after we got into Sanford, we had two calls here at the same time. We had the report of the tree on the line which turned into the grass fire," Matt Duross, fire chief at Goodwin's Mills Fire Department, said.
The grass fire, fueled by hay left unharvested due to last summer's wet conditions, and with a snow-free winter, the fire quickly spread aided by heavy winds.
"While we were there calls kept coming in, most of those calls were storm-related," Duross said.
It took crews a grueling 45 minutes to contain the grass fire. Meanwhile, departments from eight surrounding towns stepped in to handle additional emergencies and mutual aid.
"A wind-driven fire like this today (Thursday) requires a lot of help," Rick Smith, assistant chief of operations at the Sanford Fire Department, said.
For Goodwin's Mills Fire Department, a typical day consists of 2 or 3 calls.
However, recent trends show a spike in activity.
"A couple of Fridays ago, we had 15 calls in one day, and only 3 of those were storm-related," Duross said.
Chief Duross said he expects the high number of storm-related calls to persist and emphasized the ongoing challenges faced by firefighters in their daily duties.