On March 4th at 1545 hours Cheltenham Fire Company was dispatched for a report of smoke in the area at Tookany Creek Parkway and Cheltenham Avenue. Engine 4 arrived with Philadelphia Engine 63 to find a large brush fire along the Cheltenham / Philadelphia border. Three hand lines were placed in service to contain the fire initially. It was then determined that several standing, rotted-out trees were on fire as well. To extinguish the fire inside the trees, they needed to be cut down.

A phone call was made to former Cheltenham Fire Company member Dave Holt who arrived on scene within 15 minutes along with a crew from his tree company, Triad Tree Care and Landscape Group. They were able to safely drop the trees. Once on the ground, we were able to completely extinguish the fire. The company operated for almost three hours and spent another hour cleaning and restoring equipment. In addition to Dave Holt and Triad, we'd like to thank Joseph's Pizza for providing a meal for our crew.