ORANGE — A house fire on a night with single-digit temperatures and colder windchill left a man and his fiance without a home — and sent the man to the hospital with burns to his lower extremities.
Now, Witty’s Funeral Home in Orange is collecting money for the residents, whose North Main Street home is considered a total loss after collapsing due to the fire, which was caused by a combustable liquid added to the wood stove, according to Orange Fire Chief James Young and Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey.
Witty’s Funeral Home owner Jeff Cole said “We just want to be able to help our friends and help our neighbors.”
Cole said he hasn’t seen any donations come in yet, but it is still early.
The man burned was taken to Athol Hospital, before being transferred to Boston Hospital. Three firefighters also suffered minor injuries.
The names and condition of those affected will not be released, according to the Orange Fire Department.
Although no money has come in yet, Cole said the residents are “overwhelmed” that residents would reach out to support them after a devastating loss. Cole said they have had difficulties garnering their finances and dealing with banks due to all forms of identification having been lost in the fire.
The fire happened late Sunday evening just a block from the Town Hall, where crews found the rear of the home in flames and smoke pouring from the rest of the building.
The fire hydrants closest to the house were frozen and unusable, forcing firefighters to connect to hydrants near the downtown intersection, according to the Orange Fire Department.
“The extremely cold temperatures, coupled with the wind chill proved making scene operations very difficult, and dangerous,” according to a statement from the department.
Several veteran firefighters remarked it was the “coldest conditions they have ever had to deal with,” according to the statement. Young said crews fought the flames throughout the night to keep the fire contained to that one building — an update from the department’s Facebook page said crews were still putting out flames at 5 a.m. Monday after arriving to the scene around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night.
To help the residents through Witty’s Funeral Home, donations may be sent via mail and made out to Witty’s Funeral Home at 158 South Main St., Orange, with “North Main Street fire” on the memo line. Donations may also be dropped off in person if someone is at the funeral home to collect, Cole said.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.