Biggest blaze in eight years

Two calls keep Montague firefighters busy well into Thursday morning

Jock Beck said it’s the biggest blaze the Montague Fire Department has fought in more than eight years.

The deputy fire chief is talking about the fire early Thursday morning that destroyed the Montague Town Hall, comparing it to the February 2010 fire that destroyed the Morley Annear trucking business in nearby Brudenell.

While the Annear fire involved three departments, the town hall blaze didn’t require mutual aid.

The town hall fire call came in at 4:35 a.m., and within two minutes firefighters were on scene. It certainly didn’t hurt that the town hall is located directly next to the fire department.

“Fortunately, we did not have far to go, and all of our apparatus responded to the scene,’’ Beck said, noting that 22 firefighters responded to the blaze.

“Upon arrival at the hall, the roof was completely involved. The actual cause of the fire is yet to be determined and we’ll be hearing from the investigators in due course.’’

It was a long night for Montague firefighters. They had already responded to a call at 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday and didn’t make it back to the fire hall until 1:30 a.m. Thursday. Not long after their pagers went off again.

“Many of these guys have been on duty for quite a while.’’

Area businesses overwhelmed the fire department with food and beverages as news of the blaze spread through the community early Thursday morning.

Beck said they expected to be on scene throughout most of the day on Thursday.

“There are still occasional places where the cellulose insulation is regaining the heat and we’ll have to ferret those out as the day goes on. There’s no roof there to collapse now, but the ceiling joist would still be hazardous to move around on.’’

Tom MacLeod, chief of the fire department, said it’s a big loss for the town.

“But, we were able to save a lot of the equipment out of the town hall,’’ MacLeod said, referring to files and historic pictures. “It was a quick response and we got it out fast enough that we were able to get in and get the important stuff out.’’

Montague resident Alan Doucette said he drove by the town hall at 2 a.m. Thursday and everything looked fine.

“Now I wish I had looked over and might have seen a glow in the window or something,’’ Doucette said as he surveyed the damage from across the street. “It was quiet and then we got up this morning to all this action. It’s a sad day for the town.’’

Beck also used the fire to issue a reminder to Islanders.

“We want to take this opportunity to remind people, do not have any outdoor fires and be extremely careful about cigarette butts . . . and be aware that the mulch around your homes is a potential hazard. We ask that everyone exert caution. The fire index is extremely high right now. Blessedly we have not had many brush fires nor do we want to have any.’’

“Fortunately, we did not have far to go, and all of our apparatus responded to the scene. Upon arrival at the hall, the roof was completely involved. The actual cause of the fire is yet to be determined and we’ll be hearing from the investigators in due course.’’ Deputy fire chief Jock Beck