Accidental Nighttime Fire Damages West Street House

By Andrew Gorosko

About 40 firefighters converged Tuesday night at 10 West Street to extinguish an accidental house fire at the Hill residence, which caused an estimated $60,000 in property damage to the compact wood-frame structure, fire officials said.

Deputy Fire Marshal Rich Frampton said that a 17-year-old boy who lives at the house had been burning a cone-shaped piece of incense in his bedroom, after which he went into another room of the house. The unattended burning incense then caused objects in the youth’s bedroom to ignite, Mr Frampton said.

After the fire was discovered by the occupants, firefighters were alerted. Four people were home at the time of the 8:36 pm blaze. There were no injuries, fire officials said. The house stands at the intersection of West Street and Castle Hill Road.

The fire destroyed the boy’s first-floor bedroom and its contents. An adjacent bathroom was damaged, as was a wall section of the upper level. The fire broke through the roof of the house. The fire filled the home with heavy, black smoke. The house is insured for damage.

There were apparently no smoke detectors in use in the house, Mr Frampton said.

Newtown Hook & Ladder Fire Chief Dave Ober was incident commander. Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters went to the scene, with Dodgingtown firefighters standing by in the area. Botsford firefighters also were alerted.

Chief Ober said the fire occurred within an approximately 170-square-foot addition to the west side of the house that held the youth’s bedroom.

The old-style construction of the house required firefighters to open up both interior and exterior house walls to check for the extent of the blaze, he said.

Firefighters used the water carried on fire trucks to put out the fire. The area has fire hydrants. Chief Ober estimated that less than 500 gallons of water was needed to extinguish the fire. Firefighters used two hose lines inside the house, plus one hose line outside the house to put out the flames, he said.

The old-style construction of the house required firefighters to spend a lengthy period working at the scene “overhauling” the site after the blaze was out, he said.

A damage restoration company boarded up the house after the fire to secure the building.