‘Hot and heavy’ Tamaqua brush fire shows challenges faced by firefighters

TAMAQUA — State Fire Warden Paul Kennedy was still onsite monitoring a brush fire on Schuylkill County’s eastern edge Friday afternoon when he was called to another brush fire on the county’s western edge. Back-to-back fires, occurring almost as if on a schedule, underscored the intensity of the current brush fire season. While driving from one fire to the other, about a 40-mile trek, Kennedy ...