Smoldering fireworks damage Witch's Bridge

About 1:45 p.m., Tuesday, July 5, the Deerfield Fire Department was summoned to the Cogswell Ford Bridge, commonly known as the Witch's Bridge, by a call that the bridge was on fire. Firefighers on the scene said it appeared that fireworks may have been to blame for the fire, and had probably smoldered all night long. Fire personnel cut out about a 3-foot-by-2-foot section of the bridge that the fire had burned all the way through. The bridge was closed about a year and a half ago following an inspector's visit, and the county commissioners have been gearing up to have the bridge replaced. Bidding for the job is set to open on July 26. Northern Commissioner Neil Gerster referred to the bridge as "kind of a jinx," this morning after learning of the fire; referring also to a number of other problems the commission has had in preparing to have the bridge replaced. "Hopefully we'll have a new one before winter," he said estimating that the new bridge would cost somewhere around $650,000. The current bridge was built in 1905. It consists of a steel framework and wooden deck.