Connor Hedge handles lines on the ground as fellow Westfield Fire Department members douse a Pleasant Street home with water last night. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – The city’s firefighters – and police – were busy yesterday dealing with two structure fires, a porch fire and a car fire which displaced at least seven residents from their homes.
The first structure fire was reported at 4:58 p.m. and firefighters responding to a two family house at 72-74 Notre Dame Street found that a fire had started outside the building, in the rear.
Dep. Chief James Kane said later that the fire began in the rear of the house and quickly ran up the rear of the building to the attic where the fire traveled across the building.
Kane said that the fire “started outside the house, I think it was careless disposal of smoking materials” in one of the refuse barrels stored in the rear of the house.
He said that the fire outside also ignited a vehicle parked there.
Four engines and the department’s platform truck were employed to fight the fire and engines were dispatched from both Holyoke and West Springfield to staff the fire headquarters in case of other needs.
The firefighters battled the fire which caused the collapse of the roof before it was extinguished.
Firefighter reports that embers for the fire were blown into the house next door and caused a small fire which was promptly extinguished.
Meredith Griswold of the Pioneer Valley chapter of the Red Cross reports that Red Cross workers responded to the fire scene and provided services to the four persons displaced by the fire. She said that none of the residents needed overnight accommodations.
Police reports that Notre Dame Street, which had been closed to traffic as the firefighters worked, was reopened at 6:49 p.m.
At 7:12 p.m. a second structure fire was reported, on Pleasant Street.
Firefighters responding to the fire at 45 Pleasant Street found the first floor fully involved and again crews from four engines the platform truck went to work to extinguish the fire.
Police reports that one of the three tenants of the house said that he had started a fire in a first floor fireplace before he went upstairs to watch a movie with the other tenant who had been at home.
The man said that he later found the house was filling with smoke.
Det. Lt. David Ragazzini said this morning that the investigation of the fire is incomplete but said that preliminary indications are that the fire started in the first floor bedroom where the fireplace is located.
Police report that all three of the tenants were able to find alternate accommodations.
Police reports that both Pleasant and Hancock streets, which had been closed while the firefighters were fighting the fire, were reopened to traffic at 11:08 p.m.
No injuries were reported in either of the structure fires.
Earlier in the day, at 4:16 p.m., a fire was reported on the porch of a house at 76.5 Orange Street by multiple callers.
One engine was dispatched to that fire which was found to be leaves burning underneath the porch.
The firefighters report that the leaves were ignited by carelessly discarded smoking materials and were extinguished without incident.
In the morning, firefighters had responded to a car fire sparked by an accident on Union Street.
Police report that, in an accident reported at 10:22 a.m., an operator crossed the center line and stuck a vehicle in the opposing lane which was unable to swerve out of the way.
The offending vehicle careened off the other car and stuck a fire hydrant, where the car ignited.
Firefighters extinguished the fire. The operator, who told police that he had blacked out, was transported to Baystate Medical Center where no information about his condition was immediately available.
Shortly before the Pleasant Street fire was reported , police had been dispatched to West Silver Street where a fire hydrant had been struck, apparently by a hit and run driver, and snapped off but was not leaking.
