Forest Fire Postpones Meeting on Arson

A meeting of firefighters to talk about recent deliberately set fires was pre-empted last night following a forest fire.

Firefighters and emergency personnel planned to meet in Springhill to talk about a series of suspicious fires in Cumberland County. However, a forest fire broke out yesterday morning in the Athol area that brought emergency personnel into a day long fight with a stubborn fire.

Four fire departments responded to the 9am call, including: Springhill, Oxford, Collingwood, and River Hebert.

At one point, the blaze jumped across county road 302 creating two separate fires.

Firefighters gained the upper hand late in the afternoon and some were relieved of duty around 5pm.

Given the number of firefighters and departments involved in the forest fire, Mike Carter, the county’s Director of Fire Services, postponed the meeting on arson and prevention. Unfortunately, not everyone was advised to cancel the trip to Springhill.

The meeting will apparently be rescheduled, but the date is not yet known.