City firefighters exit a house at 78 Pequot Point Road Thursday evening after a fire there was brought under control. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – Four residents of a house at 78 Pequot Point Road – and their dog – escaped injury Thursday afternoon when a fire drove them from their home on the shore of Pequot Pond.
A city firefighter who responded to the blaze was transported to Baystate Noble Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
Firefighters were alerted to the fire at 4:03 p.m. and Dep. Chief Eric Bishop reports firefighters found the house fully involved when they arrived at the fire scene.
Bishop said that the fire involved both floors of the house and was venting out from the rear of the structure when firefighters first arrived.
City engines two, three, four and the tower truck responded to the alarm. Firefighters from West Springfield responded to a call for mutual aid and assisted city firefighters at the fire while firefighters from Holyoke went to the Westfield headquarters to provide coverage for the city while the city’s first line firefighters were engaged at Hampton Ponds.
Westfield firefighters Keith Lemon and Mike Albert use a chain saw to cut a hole in the roof of a Pequot Point Road house in ordr to bring a hose to bear on a smoldering fire in the attic. (Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
Bishop reports that the firefighters from Engine Three made an interior attack on the fire while other firefighters ensured that the fire did not spread to any of the other houses in the densely packed shoreline neighborhood.
Although the firefighters were able to knock down the blaze promptly, papers, clothing and other materials continued to smolder in the attic until firefighter were able to cut an opening in the roof to bring a hose to bear on the fire there.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by city police, firefighters, and State Troopers assigned to the state Fire Marshal’s office.
