Multiple departments respond to brush fire

Fire departments and forestry units responded on Thursday, April 21 to a brush fire on U.S. Route 5 in Springfield.

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2016-04-21 / Front Page Multiple departments respond to brush fire By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com Numerous fire departments responded to a brush fire along Route 5 near Springfield Thursday afternoon. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Numerous fire departments responded to a brush fire along Route 5 near Springfield Thursday afternoon. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — Fire departments and forestry units responded on Thursday, April 21 to a brush fire on U.S. Route 5 in Springfield. Smoke billowed up from a densely-forested hillside about one mile south of the Christmas Trees of Vermont tree farm on Route 5 Thursday afternoon as Smoke from a brush fire along Route 5 in Springfield Thursday afternoon could be seen from a distance. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Smoke from a brush fire along Route 5 in Springfield Thursday afternoon could be seen from a distance. — TORY JONES BONENFANT numerous fire departments including Springfield, Reading, Windsor Chester, Proctorsville responded in mutual aid. Smoke also covered nearby residential land and corn fields as firefighters brought in long hoses to battle the fire. A Reading firefighter on the scene said the fire is in more than one location at this time, and that he was not sure if the fire area included farmland. An employee at the Springfield Fire Department dispatch center said Thursday afternoon he was not sure how many departments, total, had been dispatched as of mid-afternoon. A Springfield police officer was redirecting traffic southbound on Route 5 / Connecticut River Road to detour west via Vermont Route 143. Heavy smoke was still visible as of about 3:15 p.m. along Route 5, which remains closed to public traffic. — This story will be updated when more information is available