RUMFORD — One minute Ernest Phillips was cutting his grass on Friday afternoon atop his Craftsman riding lawnmower.
The next minute, the mower was afire, sending the elderly man hurrying up his driveway to get a fire extinguisher.
“I almost got it out,” he said.
Phillips, who wasn’t injured, said he was mowing his front lawn at 263 South Rumford Road when the machine backfired and burst into flames.
“The backfire must have ignited some grass or whatever, and by the time I got people’s attention and got up to the house and got a fire extinguisher, it had a pretty good start on me,” he said. “It burned quite a while before the grass caught fire.”
That’s when the Fire Department was called, because Phillips said a strong breeze was blowing and he worried that it would get into trees in the yard and the house.
Rumford fire Chief Robert Chase arrived from home in a T-shirt and short pants and pulled fire hose out of the arriving firetruck, so fire Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover and firefighter Ed Carey could extinguish the blaze.
Thick brown smoke could be seen billowing over the woods from about a mile away. That changed to white, blue and black smoke as Glover extinguished the fire.
Afterward, while Carey ensured that Phillips was OK, Glover checked the still-smoking machine for hot spots before emptying the hose and clearing the sceneck into place and they cleared the scene.
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- Rumford fire Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover douses a fully engulfed Craftsman riding lawnmower that caught fire Friday afternoon when homeowner Ernest Phillips was mowing his lawn at 263 South Rumford Road in Rumford.
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- Rumford fire Chief Robert Chase quickly pulls fire hose out of a firetruck on Friday afternoon so firefighters can extinguish the burning Craftsman riding lawnmower at 263 South Rumford Road in Rumford.
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- Heavy smoke billows from a Craftsman riding lawnmower that caught fire on Friday afternoon while Rumford homeowner Ernest Phillips was mowing his lawn at 263 South Rumford Road.
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- As Ernest Phillips’ Craftsman riding lawnmower burns at 263 South Rumford Road, Rumford firefighter Ed Carey runs to assist Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover. Glover heads for Chief Robert Chase who arrived from home and helped get the fire hose ready to use. Phillips watches from the background at left center.
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- Residents at 263 South Rumford Road wait for Rumford firefighters to arrive on Friday afternoon to extinguish this fully-engulfed Craftsman riding lawnmower that owner Ernest Phillips said backfired and caught fire while he was on it.
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- Rumford fire Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover extinguishes a burning Craftsman riding lawnmower Friday afternoon at 263 South Rumford Road.
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- Rumford firefighters Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover, center, and Ed Carey extinguish a burning Craftsman riding lawnmower on Friday afternoon at 263 South Rumford Road in Rumford.
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- Rumford fire Lt. Sylvanus “Butch” Glover checks for hot spots inside the remains of a Craftsman riding lawnmower that backfired and caught fire on Friday afternoon. Homeowner Ernest Phillips was mowing his lawn at 263 South Rumford Road when his mower started burning.
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