Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Kane speaks with an owner of an Aldrich Drive house as firefighters work to ensure that a Thursday afternoon fire at his home is completely extinguished. (Photo ©2013 Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – Although the city firefighters who were taxed by back-to-back structure fires Wednesday, D Group, have gone off duty, there was no letup for their relief, C Group, who turned out last night to battle yet another structure fire, this one on Aldrich Drive.
No serious injuries were reported due to the fire but the only person in the home at the time, a 15 year-old boy, was transported to Noble Hospital to be checked out and, reportedly, for treatment of a burned hand. He was subsequently released.
The boy’s grandmother, who came home from a trip to the store to find firefighters battling a blaze at her house, was also taken to the hospital as a precaution.
The fire in the Springdale Road neighborhood was reported at 5:32 p.m. and Dep. Chief Patrick Kane, the C Group commander, said black smoke was seen as firefighters arrived. He said they found “heavy fire showing” from a rear corner of the Cape style house which was venting out a rear door.
“The fire was confined to the rear bedroom” where it started, he said.
Kane reported there to be “severe heat and smoke damage throughout the house” and estimated the cost of the damage to be $40,000 to the structure and $35,000 for the contents.
The fire was reported to be extinguished at 5:55 p.m. and a short time late the Holyoke Fire Department’s ladder truck, which had been dispatched to the Westfield fire headquarters in case of need, was released.
Firefighter Chris Kane is seen through the charred frame of a window as he works to ensure that a fire last night at an Aldrich Drive home is fully extinguished. (Photo 2013 Carl E. Hartdegen)
Dep. Chief Patrick Egloff, the department’s fire prevention officer, reports he was assisted in the investigation by Trooper David Percy of the state fire marshal’s office. He said they found that the cause of the fire was entirely accidental and was “no fault of the owner.”
He said that an overloaded electrical cord in the boy’s bedroom had sparked the fire.
Kane said that the boy had been home alone at the time of the fire as his grandparents had left the house for a brief errand.
A team from the American Red Cross Pioneer Valley chapter responded to the fire scene prepared to assist the residents but was ultimately not needed.
The firefighters concluded their efforts at 8:19 p.m. and control of the property as returned to the homeowner.
