New Jersey teen calls 911 from smartwatch to report wildfire after noticing smoke along Medford Township trail

Firefighters quickly got a handle on a wildfire that broke out in Burlington County Friday evening just before 6 p.m.

Chopper 3 caught flames from the multi-acre brush fire burning along the trail between Tamarac and Lake Pine in Medford Township. The fire spread to several homes along Woodthrush Trail and Heath Road.

On the ground, you saw hotspots popping up everywhere in the wooded area on Friday evening.

“There are quite a few green acres there,” says Pete Scaffidi.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service also assisted firefighters at the scene. Crews worked together to contain the fire and keep it away from nearby homes.

Fifteen-year-old Armando Dennis is in the Civil Air Patrol and lives nearby. He said he noticed smoke and knew something was wrong along the trail.

“I went down the path and found it. To my right was the fire and after walking a little bit there was a big fire in my face,” Dennis said.

The 15-year-old said he called 911 from his watch and then alerted a nearby neighbor. Dennis said he also called his grandmother.

“I didn’t expect it to be as big as it was and all the trucks just kept coming. So proud of him,” said Jacqueline Dennis. “The whole forest could go up and all I could think about was, thank God he went out there and stayed calm and knew what to do.”

In the meantime, fire officials said no evacuations were necessary from the 30 homes that were threatened. The fire brigade says they will keep an eye on the area all night and are still investigating what caused the fire.