Residents say frightening noise sparks brush fire on Barrington- - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Residents say frightening noise sparks brush fire on Barrington-Swansea line

A 20-acre brush fire raged for more than an hour on the Barrington-Swansea line on Friday.

Wind helped to spread this fire and made it hard for the firefighters on scene to put it out.

But the only thing folks who live in the area were talking about was how this fire started.

"We heard a huge, it was like a bomb going off." said Mary Anne Brady.

The sound was enough to turn Brady's head, and what she saw, was enough to make her call for help.

"I turned and there was a fire, so I called 9-1-1." said Brady.

The brush fire took 4-fire departments more than an hour to snuff out, with crews from Swansea, Barrington, Seekonk, and Warren, all pitching in to help.

During that time there were some tense moments for Mary Anne Brady, who was worried that her nursery, could go up in smoke.

"Looking at the what's on our greenhouse, with all my annuals and everything in there, and you're seeing all these embers going." said Brady.

The strange sound that Mary and others heard before the fire took off, still has no explanation.

Although the location of powerlines and transformers nearby, could help provide an answer.

"There are some high voltage lines that run adjacent to where the fire started, so that may be a possible cause." said Lt. Edward Owens of the Barrington Fire Department.

Crews from National Grid were on the scene alongside fire crews, trying to see what might have started the fire.

At its peak, the fire and the black smoke from it, could be seen for several miles.