Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad has issued an urgent public request, asking that residents refrain from burning leaves or having outdoor fires of any kind during this period of high winds and dry conditions.

“It’s too close to Christmas for someone to lose their home or sustain damage to their property because of burning leaves or improperly discarded ashes or ashes that fly off a bonfire and land on nearby dry ground,” said Gloucester Fire Prevention Officer Lt. Tony Villani.

Villani said that the department responded to several fires last week that could have resulted in substantial property damage.

“They could have been avoided altogether,” he said.

In one fire, someone was burning leaves close to the house and garage, said Villani. The fire spread and set a nearby tree on fire, then set fire to the house, the garage, and an outbuilding. Five engines from Gloucester and a tanker from Mathews Volunteer Fire Department were able to make “a good stop” and save the house and garage, he said, but the outbuilding and its contents were a total loss.

While fire crews were at the scene of that fire, said Villani, someone else began to burn leaves in another area. The fire spread along a ditch line and was threatening the caller’s house when Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue apparatus responded at Gloucester’s request, along with a Gloucester assistant chief. They were able to extinguish the fire before it reached the house, he said.

Finally, in the late evening on another day, a resident apparently dumped fireplace ashes in the middle of the road in their neighborhood, and wind swept the ashes into the ditch, setting fire to the leaves and ground beside the road, into the woods, and up a tree.

“Our personnel were on that scene for well over an hour,” said Villani.

The proper way to dispose of ashes, he said, is to remove them to a metal bucket, take them outside away from any structures, and thoroughly soak them in the bucket before placing them anywhere on the ground.

Villani asked that residents think about fire safety and keep the area around their homes and their neighbors’ homes safe.