Woman sees firsthand how fast a fire gets out of hand

BARNES CORNERS, N.Y. (WWNY) - A Barnes Corners woman saw firsthand just how easily a fire can spread out of control.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jennifer Worthington was outside her home burning wood in the fire pit in her front yard when things went south.

“A spark came out and lit the whole thing on fire,” she said.

Worthington says she quickly called 911 and family members as she watched the flames spread.

“My fear was that the wind was just going to come up quickly and just take everything, including the house.”

Fire crews from Lowville and Copenhagen arrived and quickly knocked the fire down. Worthington’s son and nephew rushed to help move the family’s snowmobiles away from the fire, fearing the gasoline in their tanks would erupt.

Worthington says if it were not for the speed at which help came things could have been so much worse.

“There were like six or seven sleds that they had to move that I didn’t want caught on fire. If it wasn’t for my son, I think I would have been in a lot more trouble than I already was.”

No one was injured. Worthington says in hindsight, she could have been more careful.

“Thinking it was in a fire pit, I should have been okay, but clearly it was not and everything was dry,” she said. “That’s why it caught quickly.”

She hopes other people learn from what happened to her.

“Be careful,” she said. “It can go just like that. Even if you were watching it like I was, one little spark and you’re done.”

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