Fire claims barn, 2 acres of brush
The Daily Mail
Mar. 24, 2009

GREENVILLE — A portion of Route 32 in Greenville was closed Monday afternoon while five companies as well as a team from the State Department of Environmental Conservation controlled and monitored a fire that claimed a barn and two acres of brush.

No injuries were reported.

The road between county Route 35 and Hill Street was closed at 1:45 p.m. and reopened at 5 p.m.

Companies from Freehold, Greenville, Medway-Grapeville, West Greenville and Westerlo responded to the fire at 10930 Route 32, which took an hour to control, Greenville’s Assistant Chief Cliff Powell said.

The blaze started at around 12:30 p.m. when wind spread a controlled debris fire on the property to a nearby barn, according to authorities, and then to the surrounding brush.

Greenville Fire Company Assistant Chief Jim Stryker said the barn had recently been converted into a wood-working shop.

DEC Region 4 spokesman Rick Georgeson said it took the agency team two hours to extinguish the brush fire.

Georgeson said that strong winds can often quickly turn a small fire into a much more serious problem.

“We strongly suggest that people do not burn on a windy day,” he said.