At 10:05 PM on Tuesday, our department was alerted for weeds on fire inside a storm drain on Needle Street at Onward Avenue. This location is within the Townhomes at French Creek development.

Deputy Chief and Rescue 65 responded to the incident. Firefighters arrived to find leaves and weeds were on fire inside the inlet. Spraying water into the inlet was not fully successful as the plastic lateral drainage pipe leaving the inlet box was itself on fire. Firefighters had great difficulty removing the steel grate from the privately-owned inlet to access the fire in the pipe. Borough of Phoenixville Public Works personnel responded to assist with removal of the grate. A backhoe was also requested but eventually not needed. Firefighters were able to access the lateral pipe and fully extinguish the fire.

Crews cleared the scene after about an hour.