COLRAIN — Firefighters from six departments responded to a house fire at 17 Griswoldville St. Saturday afternoon, successfully putting the fire out in minutes.
Colrain Fire Chief Nick Anzuoni said when he arrived on scene at around 2:20 p.m., smoke was showing from the building, a two-story home where three adults and two children reside. The fire originated upstairs, and smoke could be seen in the upstairs windows.
However, Anzuoni said the fire wasn’t ventilating, and firefighters were able to put the fire out in seven or eight minutes.
“It took very little water to put it out,” he said.
Though the cause of the fire is still under investigation Anzuoni said the damage was contained to several rooms upstairs, in part because of thick plaster walls that prevented the fire from spreading.
“There’s a lot to be said for these old, heavily built houses,” he said.
Colrain Ambulance Director Gary Ponce said the residents were home at the time of the fire, and paramedics treated two adults for smoke inhalation. Anzuoni said the family’s dogs and parakeet were taken safely out of the house, but as of around 3:30 p.m., firefighters continued to look for several cats. Anzuoni believes they ran out of the house during the commotion.
Anzuoni suspected the family wouldn’t be displaced.
Firefighters from Colrain, Shelburne Falls, Shelburne Center and Heath responded, with Greenfield serving as the rapid intervention team. Halifax, Vt. covered in station.