July 29, 2003 - When three beachfront homes went up in flames May 6 on St. Simons Island, they were merely foreshadowing what the summer had in store for Glynn County firefighters.

In what is generally seen as a slow season for firefighters, this summer is delivering some heavy losses.

"We've had more calls than we would normally have for this time of year," said Lt. Jerome Johnson. "We don't really have any explanation for it. Some of them have been started by lightning, others have just been accidental fires."

The St. Simons Island fire falls into the accidental category, as roofers started the blaze while using hot tar on the roof of a rental cottage at 742 Oglethorpe Ave. From there, the fire spread to buildings on both sides of the cottage, providing spectators on the beach with an up-close look at firefighters in action.

Spectators gathered to watch Glynn County firefighters at work once again on May 31 when part of a railroad trestle on Colonel's Island caught fire. Firefighters were on the scene for hours extinguishing the flames, from on top of the trestle and below it in boats.

"I guess it's pretty unusual for us to have two high-profile fires like that so close together," said Capt. Neal Mann.

The Glynn County Fire Department responded to more fires in June of 2002 than in June of 2003, but the estimated damages cause by the fires was far greater this year than the previous one.

Sixty-eight fires in June 2002 caused an estimated $74,980 in damages, whereas that figure more than tripled to $229,500 in 46 fires this past June.

Contributing to that number was a fire that broke out June 1– just a day after the trestle fire – at Glynn Place Apartments on Scranton Road. That fire originated in a kitchen and caused an estimated $45,000 in damages. The blaze destroyed one apartment and damaged several others.

County firefighters were once again in the thick of it July 17 when a man set his Carteret Road home on fire after barricading himself inside.

According to Brunswick Fire Chief Lee Stewart, the city has not experienced a similar pickup in serious fires this summer.

Despite a busy summer, Johnson said the department has not needed to make any serious adjustments.

"We're just doing what we always do," Johnson said. "We always have the volunteer firefighters for extra help. We rely on them quite a lot."

Original article:

The Brunswick News: "Firefighters working overtime"