ORANGE — A West Main Street house fire left one person dead Friday morning, according to Orange Fire Chief James Young. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Another person was in the house, and went to Athol Hospital, conscious and alert, with injuries from the fire.
Heavy equipment was needed to recover the victim, who officials declined to identify at press time.
Crews responded to the two-alarm fire at 43 West Main St., a block from the center of town, around 8:10 a.m. to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the 1½-story, white, wood-frame house. The fire was coming from the first floor and worked its way up, Young said.
Several fire crews continued to work to put out pockets of fire for around two hours on the chilly morning that saw one of the first overnight frosts of the season.
“You could see the smoke all the way from Cumberland Farms,” said Athol resident Jeff Rivers.
Rivers said that some flames could be seen when he got closer to the fire, but for the most part, the smoke obscured the building.
The house is considered lost, and by 4 p.m. most of the structure — including the roof and entire front portion of the house — had been torn down with an excavator, which also removed charred furniture, carpets and clothing from the building’s interior.
The home was built in 1850 and was assessed at about $63,000 by the Orange building inspector.
Several fire departments went to the fire, including from Orange, Athol, Erving, Warwick, Royalston, Greenfield, Turners Falls, New Salem and Northfield. Shutesbury Fire Department assisted. Wood’s Ambulance broug ht the injured person to the hospital.
West Main Street was closed off from Honest Weight Artisan Beer to the center of town, with billowing smoke that could be seen down Route 2A, heading into town. The street was still closed at 4 p.m., with a detour rerouting incoming traffic from Route 2A.
School buses dropping off students from the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School had to let them out in the center of town because of the blocked road. Several students walking home remarked that they could see the smoke from the fire while in class Friday morning — nearly two miles away. Next to this home is the boarded up 39 West Main St. building, which suffered a fire this past March.