City firefighters responded to a suspicious fire near the river bank off Railroad Avenue last night and, once access to the gated area was gained, extinguished a burning trailer which was fully involved when firefighters arrived.
The fire was reported to firefighters at 9:06 p.m. by a caller who said the blaze could be seen from Park Street on the north side of the Westfield River.
Two pumper trucks, the department’s platform truck and an ambulance were dispatched, and police officer Douglas Lavalley also responded. The fire was found to be behind the Boise Cascade property near the bank of the river.
Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Kane reports that an abandoned tractor-trailer unit was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived but he found that access was restricted by a fence and a locked gate. Lavalley reports that firefighters used hydraulic tools to cut a steel cable to get to the blazing trailer.
Kane reports that, once firefighters were able to reach the blaze, the fire was extinguished with foam.
Lavalley reports that the damage to the derelict vehicle caused by the fire was too extensive to allow firefighters to determine of the cause of the fire but said that the blaze was “suspicious”.
