WESTFIELD – City and state fire investigations are seeking to determine the cause of a barn fire Friday night that gutted an old wooden structure and which is considered to possibly be of suspicious origin.
Deputy Fire Chief Pat Egloff said Monday that the fire remains under investigation.
The barn at 51 Montgomery Road was extensively damaged in the 9:33 p.m. blaze reported while the residents were not home. The Fire Department dispatched two engines and the tower truck, as well as an ambulance to that location. Several police officers and detectives were also dispatched to assist firefighters.
Egloff said that two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated then returned to duty.
The barn was a two-story structure used in the past to store hay in the upper loft area.
“It was maybe 20 by 30 feet with a full second floor, so maybe 1,000 square feet.” Egloff said. “It was constructed of barn wood planks and beams.”
Firefighters also responded at 1:19 a.m. Saturday morning to a fire outside the residence at 23 Harvard Street. Engines 3 and 5 and an ambulance were dispatched to that fire which damaged the vinyl near the rear steps of the structure.
Egloff said that cause of the Harvard Street fire was improper disposal of smoking material.
“The person smoked in that area and some lighted material got into the crack between the foundation and steps where it ignited old leaf material,” Egloff said. “It caused minor damage.”
Egloff said that the dry conditions contributed to both fires.
“It’s been two and a half weeks since we had any rain, so it’s super dry out there – a high fire risk,” Egloff said. “Even if we get an inch of rain (Tuesday), people still need to be careful.
