Burn barrel sets off grass fire, consumes shed in Dupo

Dupo firefighters were called away from the Easter egg hunt after a grass fire consumed a shed and threatened other structures Saturday.

Capt. Monte Miller said the volunteer firefighters were getting ready for the annual Easter celebration when the call came in about 1:15 p.m. about a grass fire in the 1100 block of Muskopf Drive that was spreading to a structure.

The resident, who declined to be named, said a piece of burning yard waste escaped the burn barrel and set the grass on fire. It was less than three minutes before the shed was burning, she said.

The shed was engulfed in flame when firefighters arrived, and due to the placement of nearby power lines, they had to fight it from the field behind the house, Miller said. The shed was a total loss, along with the riding lawnmower inside it, but the fire did not spread to the house or neighbors’ properties.

“I cannot stress enough, we’ve been to so many fires where people are burning in a burn barrel and they don’t have it far enough away from a structure,” Miller said.

There were at least two other brush fires reported in St. Clair County on Saturday, according to messages from the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. Burning yard waste is permitted or banned by various city ordinances in St. Clair County; in Dupo, waste can be burned any day except Monday and Wednesday.

No one was injured in the fire. At least two other departments assisted Dupo in fighting the fire and covering their territory — and Dupo’s crew made it back in time for the egg hunt, Miller said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Burn barrel sets off grass fire, consumes shed in Dupo."