STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
--- A four-alarm
brush fire scorched
a four-acre swath of
Great Kills Park
earlier today.
First reported at
4:24 p.m., the fire
escalated to three
alarms within 10
minutes, said an
FDNY spokesman. By
5:26 p.m., a fourth
alarm had been
signaled, and close
to 40 fire trucks
and about 140
firefighters were
dispatched to battle
the blaze.
The blaze was
declared under
control at 7:04 p.m.
It was the borough’s
first brush fire of
consequence this
year, according to
FDNY Deputy Chief
Peter Leicht of
Division 8.
An FDNY staging area
for responding
companies was
established at the
Buffalo Avenue
entrance to the
Gateway National
Recreation Area, off
Hylan Boulevard, and
the park was
immediately shut
down to vehicular
traffic and
pedestrians.
The fire began south
of the model
airplane field and
authorities are
unsure what started
the flames, said Lt.
George Davis of the
U.S. Park Police.
Fire apparatus used
to combat the flames
included tower
ladder companies,
brush fire units and
an NYPD helicopter
equipped with a
“bambi bucket” — a
large container used
to lift water out of
a lake or ocean in
midflight.
Overseeing the
large-scale
operation was FDNY
Deputy Assistant
Chief Michael
Marrone, the
borough’s new acting
commander.
Eight firefighters
suffered minor
injuries and were
taken to Staten
Island University
Hospital, Ocean
Breeze, said the
department
spokesman.
All firefighters
were required to be
medically evaluated
by the personnel of
the FDNY’s
mobile-home-sized
MERV (Major
Emergency Response
Vehicle), noted
Leicht.
The last major brush
fires in Great Kills
Park were in 2008,
when flames tore
through 40 acres in
September and singed
20 acres in
December.
