Agricultural Fire on Brooks Lane: Catskill Firefighters and Brush Units Knock Down Afternoon Blaze

CATSKILL, NY — Firefighters from the Catskill Fire Company, Inc. responded to an agricultural machinery fire late Saturday afternoon, successfully knocking down an active hay baler fire at the end of Brooks Lane.

On the afternoon of September 12, emergency personnel were dispatched to a reported field equipment fire. Catskill responded with Command Cars 2 and 3, a frontline structural engine, and a specialized brush unit.

To access the rural terrain and execute a targeted knockdown, crews deployed the department's vintage 1978 Chevrolet Pierce mini-pumper. Utilizing the compact, high-mobility apparatus, firefighters quickly isolated the burning agricultural equipment and saturated the involved baler and surrounding dry brush to eliminate the threat of field extension.

Mutual aid was initially requested from the West Athens Fire Department for a utility task vehicle (UTV) to support off-road access; however, incoming Catskill crews contained the fire promptly upon arrival, allowing the mutual aid resource to be returned to service before deploying.

Department officials highlighted the ongoing reliability and tactical effectiveness of the department's classic 1978 apparatus, noting that while modern frontline trucks carry advanced technological features, the vintage mini-pumper remains a dependable workhorse capable of delivering rapid suppression in tight, off-road agricultural settings.