ORANGE — The American Red Cross was contacted to assist the residents of 59 High St. with securing immediate housing after their home was damaged in a chimney fire on Friday night and it was deemed uninhabitable, according to the Orange Fire Department.
The chimney fire was reported at 9:17 p.m. A post on the Orange Fire Department’s Facebook page states that the fire extended into the second-floor walls surrounding the pellet stove, spreading upward and to the exterior of the home. A portion of the wall had to be cut out and removed.
The department credited early notification to 911 and quick thinking by a neighbor, who threw water on the exterior of the house, with “reducing what could’ve been extensive damage.”
In addition to Orange personnel, firefighters from Athol and New Salem responded to the scene, while the Greenfield Fire Department served as the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT), and the Erving and Gardner departments provided station coverage.
“Great work by all crews and [the Shelburne Control Dispatch Center] for coordination of resources,” the Orange Fire Department’s post reads. “Special thank you to Northfield EMS for handling a medical in North Orange while our crews were committed to the fire.”
