ATHOL — The second-alarm fire that displaced three people and three cats Tuesday morning was caused by someone microwaving meat wrapped in Styrofoam, according to the state Department of Fire Services.
Public Information Officer Jennifer Mieth said the blaze that destroyed the two-apartment dwelling and its contents at 190 Main St. resulted in an estimated $160,000 in damage. It was deemed accidental, she said.
Athol Fire Chief John Duguay said the fire started sometime before 3:40 a.m. He said one woman was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but was released.
“(The fire) was fully involved when we got here, so we focused on all the exposures,” he said, referring to nearby residences. “All the tenants in all these houses around here, they were all evacuated out of their houses.”
Duguay said the other dwellings were spared, though that may not have been the case if the wind had been as strong as it was in recent days.
Kyle Parent, one of the house’s residents, said he was defrosting meat in the microwave downstairs and went upstairs to go to the bathroom.
“And when I came down, the whole kitchen was engulfed. The microwave had caught on fire,” he said standing next to roommate Alisha Linnus shortly after 9:30 a.m. Parent, who said he moved in a few months ago, said he ran upstairs to alert Linnus and her boyfriend, Michael Loonie, and then went to the house’s other apartment to warn fellow tenant John Linehan.
Linnus said the fire grew rapidly.
“By the time I got downstairs, it was already in the dining room,” Linnus said, adding that Loonie did not live in the house but spent a great deal of time there. “I couldn’t even breathe — (the smoke) was so heavy. All I could smell was plastic. You can probably smell my hair still and it smells like plastic. My cats smell like plastic.”
Linnus said one cat, the mother to two 4-week-old kittens, ran from the house during the fire and Linnus and Parent each rescued a kitten. She said she had lived at 190 Main St. for more than a year.
The American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts was at the scene to assist the displaced residents and Linnus said its members had been helpful.
Angel Vazquez, a neighbor who lives on the second floor of an adjacent building, said he woke up to what he thought sounded like people arguing, then heard his doorbell ring. When he opened the door and looked out, he saw flames and called 911 before alerting other nearby residents.
A.F. Mallet Excavating began to tear down the charred structure around 10 a.m. as a collection of neighbors looked on from a sidewalk on the adjacent Union Street, which was partially blocked for the firefighting efforts.
Duguay said his department was joined by crews from Orange, Phillipston and Royalston and a rapid intervention team (tasked with potentially rescuing downed firefighters) from Winchendon. He said roughly 45 firefighters responded. The Petersham Fire Department covered his station. Athol Building Inspector Brianna Skowyra was also at the scene.
Recorder reporter Tom Relihan contributed to this report.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258. On Twitter: @DomenicPoli