Easter no holiday for WashCo firefighters
By Evan Carden SA Editor

A large number of south Washington County volunteer firefighters had to put aside spending Easter with their families to battle a number of fires in the Saint Town area.

According to Fairford Fire Chief Chris Murphy, the department was called out around 2:30 p.m., Easter Sunday, March 23, to a large fire in the Sanktown community. "While we were fighting that fire several other fires started," said Murphy, who added that the department battled a total of five fires during a six-hour period. "We'd get one under control and another one would start about 100 or so yards away."

The department was first called to extingquish a fire on Doyle Weaver Road in McIntosh, then responded to the Sanktown fires. Firefighters from the McIntosh and Charity Chapel fire departments assisted with those. Law enforcement officers from Washington, Mobile and Clarke counties were also on the scene.

"I wish the (Washington County) Sheriff's Department would investigate these fires to help us determine if they were in fact arson," said Murphy. "It just seems awful strange that the harder we would fight one fire, the more there would be elsewhere."

The largest number of acres burned was off Kyle Davis Road, where approximately 20 acres were destroyed. The last fire burned an area on Happy Hill Road, which threatened the Oak Hill Church.

A total of 23 firefighters were on the scene. Fifteen of those were from the Fairford department, while six from McIntosh and two from Charity Chapel assisted. Fairford used all six of its trucks to fight the fires.

Each year during the months of March and April, Washington County is plagued with multiple grass and woods fires, often destroying hundreds of acres.

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