Meteorite said to start backyard fire
By Associated Press, 12/05/00
SALISBURY, N.H. -- Hensmith Road residents swear a meteorite started a backyard fire in the neighborhood.
The scene was quiet by the time Salisbury firefighters arrived after 5 p.m. Monday. Neighbors had doused the fire that had prompted the call, and the meteorite that had started it had stopped blazing.
The extraterrestrial visitor slammed into the back yard of 129 Hensmith Road, according to witnesses, burying itself in the ground and starting a small fire.
"When we got there they told me they saw this meteorite come in," said Fire Chief Edwin Browne.
"I've been doing this for 30 years. I've never seen anything like it before," he said.
The flame burned about an 18-inch area, he said, and that the ground was muddy from residents pouring buckets of water on the small fire.
"It's there. Buried in the mud," Browne said.
"It's a little weird for my book," said the fire dispatcher who dealt with the call. "I've never had anything drop out of the sky on my watch."
He said the National Weather Service, which he called for advice, didn't know what to do about the meteoritic visitor either.
"They said, 'We just predict the weather, we don't predict stuff falling out of the sky."'
The New England Meteoritical Services said meteorites are some of the scarcest material on Earth, much sought after by researchers and collectors. It said meteorites essentially are shooting stars that make it to the ground.
The majority, it reports on its Web site, originate from asteroids. A smaller number comes from the moon, comets or Mars.
The owner of 129 Hensmith Road could not be reached for comment Monday night.
