TURNERS FALLS — Sunday’s third-alarm fire at 55 Park St. was started by children “misusing a lighter and a candle” on the second floor of the three-story apartment building, according to the Department of Fire Services.
“Fortunately, everyone made it out of the building safely,” Turners Falls Fire Chief John Zellmann said in a Department of Fire Services press release. “But this fire demonstrated that the flame from one lighter can quickly grow to a serious fire involving two floors of a residence. Keep matches and lighters out of curious kids’ reach, and start fire education early by showing them that even adults have to be very careful with fire.”
Six people and two pets escaped and were displaced by the blaze. Those involved sustained only minor burns and, according to Turners Falls Deputy Fire Chief Brian McCarthy, no one was transported to the hospital for further treatment.
The children, ages 6 and 3, started the fire in a rear bedroom, according to the release. They then “alerted their parents to the rapidly growing fire.”
Turners Falls firefighters responded to a 911 call shortly before 2:45 p.m., by which time the fire had spread to the vacant third floor.
By around 3:45 p.m., firefighters from Turners Falls, Montague Center, Greenfield, Gill, Bernardston, Erving, Orange, South Deerfield, Deerfield, Whately, Sunderland, Northfield and Brattleboro, Vt. were present, along with South County EMS and Northfield EMS. Tankers and hydrants were used to pump water into the burning building.
“With heat, proximity and the size of the houses, you have to prepare for the worst-case scenario,” McCarthy said of the number of departments who responded.
McCarthy said the fire was under control by 3:45 p.m., at which time departments began to be dismissed, although a crew stayed on scene until 9 p.m. to ensure there were no additional flare-ups.
According to McCarthy, the blaze burned through the roof of the third-floor apartment, also leaving heavy smoke damage on the third and second floors, and mostly water damage on the first floor.
“As far as it being torn down, that would have to be looked at,” he said.
McCarthy also said the Red Cross responded, although he was unsure of any particular relief efforts to support the displaced family.
The fire was jointly investigated by the Turners Falls Fire Department and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, according to the Department of Fire Services press release.
“Massachusetts has gone more than two years without a child fatality in a fire, and that’s due in part to early fire education,” State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey said in the release. “Teach kids to tell a grown-up when they see matches or lighters, praise them when they do, and keep these items in a safe place that’s out of their reach.”
The release states officials referred the children to the Northwestern Youth Fire Intervention Response, Education, and Safety Partnership (NoFIRES), a collaboration of fire, law enforcement, mental health care providers and social service agencies that provides intervention, education and prevention services to youths ages 18 and under who set fires or engage in fire-related behavior. NoFIRES provides these free services in Franklin and Hampshire counties, as well as the North Quabbin area and Holyoke.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.