Mother’s Day Guide................................S1 Worship Guide

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This newspaper previously reported that initially, when the blaze broke out, “approximately 50 structures were threatened,” on N. Westminster Drive and on Thames Court in LeisureTowne, according to the NJFFS, but as of 5:30 p.m. on March 19, according to the agency, “that number had been scaled back significantly.”

Ultimately, no structures sustained reported damage.

“I learned something, never having been a firefighter, that because of where that fire was, they were not actively putting water on the fire,” the mayor said. “Because of the creeks and water already back there, once they knew the fire was not going to push towards the houses in LeisureTowne, or any part of that area, it was just a matter of letting it burn.”

Mikulski pointed out that “in terms of the fire investigation” it can take “over a year” for one to conclude, citing another fire in town that occurred some two years ago at a junkyard, which he maintained is still under investigation.

“As for the deceased person, that is completely handled by the State Police,” the mayor noted. “It is not handled by us at all.”

Michael Rathjen, deputy chief of the Hampton Lakes Volunteer Fire Company, one of two fire companies that service Southampton, told meeting attendees that the blaze is “still under official investigation,” and because of that, “there is only certain limited information that people can and cannot say.”

“For the reasons as to why the fire burned for so long, it was due to common forest fire tactics,” Rathjen said. “A lot of people don’t understand – when they see firefighters, they think our job is to put the wet stuff on the red stuff; there is a fire you put water on it.

“That is not how forestry works and I am a forestry firefighter with the State of New Jersey as well. Most of the time, we actually use fire to fight fire.”

The reason for that, according to Rathjen, is “if we can control burn an area, then we know it is not going reignite.”

“It was not an option (to use water) in LeisureTowne due to ‘certain investigations’ and geographical content back there,” Rathjen declared. “And just to put LeisureTowners minds’ a little more at ease, I was back there with a couple of forestry firefighters afterwards and there are a lot of natural barriers back there, including a swamp, unnatural berms – including ones back there from the 18th Century that are 6 feet tall.”

LeisureTowne, Rathjen declared, was “very well protected without us even realizing they were very well protected.”

In further explaining why “as much water as you want” would still not have extinguished this particular wildfire, and the decision was made to let it burn itself out, Rathjen contended “there were so many inches of unburned leaves and natural substances” that the blaze would “not have gone out,” but rather “would have traveled through the ground, through burned roots and leaves.”

“From that standpoint, we let it burn for as long as it needs to, and it naturally gets put out by a good, saturation rain, which is what happens,” Rathjen said. “That is why it burned for several days inside of LeisureTowne and you had smoke and ash.”

Scott Mitchell, chief of the Vincent Fire Company or the other fire company that services Southampton, in noting he was the first arriving firefighter on-scene, contended that “it wasn’t that we were telling people they were ‘not allowed to come in,’” but rather “we were suggesting (to people), because it was around mealtime, to ‘please go have a meal’” in effort to have them “stay out of the area.”

“It was more for the safety of people, because people love to come and watch and there were many large vehicles, not only in LeisureTowne, but also on Ridge Road, etc.,” Mitchell said. “And we just felt like it was safer for people to go out and eat and avoid a potential accident. It was not a worry about homes in danger.”

Anyone with additional questions about the fire aspect of the incident, Rathjen said, can contact him or Hampton Lakes Fire Chief Thomas Rathjen, but given the matter is still under investigation, “what we can answer, we will answer.”

Mikulski said that he would have Township Administrator Kathleen D. Hoffman reach out to the state police to see if there is an update that she could obtain for the next regularly scheduled Southampton committee meeting in May.

CANNABIS

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come from afar, including from Philadelphia, to “dump paint, household trash.” Heinold called it a “buried dump.”

“I am happy to hear Murphy’s Pit will be cleaned,” he declared.

While the landfill “has contamination,” according to Heinold, the pit itself does not, with the solar redeveloper “looking and hoping to find contamination,” because “the way state (solar) programs work, it opens up an opportunity for solar because of contamination that underlies a property.”

“Murphy’s Pit,” as previously reported by this newspaper, has been considered a hotspot for illegal off-road motorsports.

“Now the area becomes secured,” Gimble maintained. “There will be a fence and a buffer, whereas, before, dirt bikes. That goes away now in a sense. So, we are gaining that benefit, and taking something that has historically been an eyesore for us for very long time (and improving it). This is the most optimal solution for Murphy’s Pit, and I think it is good.”

PARADE

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newcomer resigned, will seek election to a two-year unexpired term.

McGinnis, who was due to run for re-election this year, confirmed to this newspaper on April 24 that, “No, I am not running.”

“My business is growing, I want to spend more time with family, and I don’t agree with the way that the town is being run,” she said of the reason she is not seeking re-election. “The thing is – I am trying to get things done and just don’t like the way things are being run. I just feel like that the time spent on the committee is time I can spend with my family. They keep downsizing the time the public can speak (with members of the public now only provided two minutes to speak during public comment, something McGinnis cast the lone vote to oppose).

“I don’t agree with the way things are being run, and there more of ‘them’ than ‘me,’ so I just think my time is better spent running my business.” follow us on facebook.com/MedfordUMC Please join us for In-Person Services

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