WESTFIELD–Police and fire responded to a fire at a home on Columbia Street Wednesday night.
The fire was at 5 Columbia St., near the Phipps Liquors on North Elm Street. Westfield Fire Department reported that everyone in the house was evacuated safety and that no one, including emergency personnel, was injured. However, three people were displaced.
Westfield Fire deputy chief Eric Bishop said that although everyone made it out safely, it was due to the alertness of neighbors that were across the street from the home who notified the occupants. There were no working smoke detectors in the home.
The cause of the fire was reportedly an unattended candle on the second floor.
The fire was contained to the second floor of the home, with smoke damage to the second and third floors, but the home is not a total loss. However, the occupants were displaced and were receiving assistance from the Rec Cross.
Westfield Fire Department personnel were able to also save the family’s Christmas gifts in the blaze.
Social media posts that were reportedly from residents near the location of the fire show video and pictures of flames coming from the top floor through a window of the two-story home, but currently are unconfirmed if they are in fact from the scene of the fire.
Massachusetts State Police’s fire investigation services also assisted Westfield Fire with investigating what occurred.
