Chasing Fire at Chasewater...

It was meant to be a peaceful trip to Chasewater, a local nature reserve. On the way I heard sirens. Behind me a fire engine was speeding along, blue lights flashing. It turned off down a side road and I thought nothing more of it until I noticed the plume of smoke.

There was a good view up on the high bridge above the toll motorway, from there I found a footpath so that I could get a closer look.

The flames were fierce, crackling loudly. I glanced into the nearby stables, but thankfully they were empty.

The fire crew still hadn't arrived and the flames were starting to spread. There wasn't much I could do to help.

The first of three fire tenders pulled into the paddock.

I was impressed out how quickly they were out with the hose and tackling the blaze, just seconds.

The initial flames were extinguished rapidly but kept on reigniting.

It took quite a bit to douse it completely. Clouds of steam and smoke engulfed the fire fighters.

They were very thorough, taking time to cool everything down as they didn't know whether there were gas canisters involved.

With the fire quelled, the crew took a brief breather. It looked from the debris to be a caravan that had been destroyed, setting fire to other equipment around it.



I never found out whether it was a deliberate fire, but locals told me there had been other fires in the area recently, so who knows...