Last Friday evening, Sept. 27, a newly arrived camper on Trott Island reported an underground fire at the Pine Grove campsite. The cause was clearly an inadequately extinguished campfire that had been smoldering for some time.

We at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust would like to express our appreciation and praise for the town’s fire crew in their excellent response to the fire in Cape Porpoise Harbor.

At about 5:30 p.m., Tom Bradbury, trust executive director, received a call from the camper regarding the fire. Tom called the lead volunteers of the trust’s Island Stewards program, who called 911 and headed to Cape Porpoise Harbor to show the crew where the fire was located.

It was clear when the regional dispatcher asked for “the street address” that this was far from a routine fire call. However, before even reaching the harbor, the stewards were contacted by dispatch to say that help was on the way and would meet them at Cape Porpoise Pier. In less than 30 minutes a brush truck with portable equipment and a fire-fighting crew were at the pier, ready to go.

With darkness closing fast, the crew reached the island to encounter a significant burn with an active front moving perilously close to an open grass and brush area. The fire crew did an excellent job attacking the leading edge and dousing the critical spots with sea water. Firefighters, stewards, and campers lugged containers brimming with sea water several hundred feet over a steep pebble berm.

The crew got the burn under control after about 90 minutes of hard work. The campers stayed on the island to keep an eye on things and report back to the fire chief in the morning. Stewards made a final check on the fire site Monday morning and confirmed that all was well.

Given recent drought conditions, if it was not for the fire crew’s immediate and skillful response, the whole island would likely have burned.

The trust wishes to express their gratitude and respect for the excellent level of commitment and competence shown by the men and women of our Kennebunkport Fire Department.

In addition, the trust would like to call attention to the need for increased attention to fire safety from campers. While the vast majority of campers treat campsites with extraordinary respect and care, the Island Stewards have seen evidence of fires that were built too large, run too hot, or were carelessly left unextinguished. This was likely the cause of the recent Trott Island fire, that could have had a result of tragic proportions.

The trust will be re-evaluating its fire policy over the winter and reaching out to campers, both local and out-of-state, with reminders and education.

Thank you again to the Kennebunkport fire crew.

Carol Morris is co-leader, with Jon Dykstra, of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust Island Stewards program.