At 12:30 a.m. Sunday, members of the Clermont and Hamlin Township volunteer fire departments were dispatched to a log skidder fire on Elk Fork Road in Norwich Township.

On Sunday afternoon, Hamlin Township fire chief Randy Himes said no one was injured and the skidder was unattended in the woods when the fire began.

Himes, who was working in the area at the time of the incident, was the first on scene, and he arrived to find the engine compartment and cab of the skidder fully engulfed in flames.

He said an exact cause has not been determined, but it is believed the fire started due to electrical malfunction. Himes said he thinks the truck belongs to Duffy Inc. of Smethport.

The location of the burning truck was six miles up Shawmut Grade Road and nearly a mile further up a road past the second guard shack, according to reports. Himes said the truck was approximately seven miles out in the middle of the woods.

“As far as I know the machine was parked, not running or being used,” Himes said. “It was spotted by passersby, truck drivers, who I guess called 911.”

He said due to the severity of the blaze by the time the fire was called in and responders arrived, the skidder sustained severe damage and had to be hauled out by a tow truck.

“When I got there the engine and cab were fully involved,” Himes said. “The tires were not on fire yet, which is a good thing. I attacked it with a dry powder fire extinguisher and put it out twice, but without water on hand to cool it down, it reignited again.”

He said Clermont volunteer firefighters arrived next with a truck and attacked the fire with water and put it out. The rest of Himes’ department, the Hamlin Township VFD, came in with tanker and supplied Clermont crews with more water. 

“At that point it was easy to knock down and control,” Himes stated. “There were no injuries, but the skidder sustained some pretty serious damage.”

He said there were approximately 15 firefighters on scene between the two departments. Hamlin Township VFD provided an engine for stand-by at Clermont’s station and had Mount Jewett on stand-by covering for Hamlin Township while crews were on scene.