Fire destroys brand new house in Bellingham
BELLINGHAM – A family reported to be moving into a new home at 10 Pine Acres Drive appeared to have been left homeless on Friday, after a stubborn late afternoon fire all but destroyed the large two-story wood-frame structure.
A mother and her two children, said to be at home after movers had left a short while before, fled the dwelling as the fire broke out at around 5:35 p.m., and took shelter with nearby neighbors, according to witnesses. No one was reported hurt in the escape but Deputy Fire Chief Mark Poirier said one firefighter later suffered a minor injury during the effort to extinguish the fire and was taken to Milford Hospital to be checked out.
The heat of the fire warped vinyl siding on a home next door and wind blew smoke throughout the neighborhood. The heat of the fire also scorched the grass of the front lawn at 10 Pine Acres Drive.
Firefighters could be seen working to protect a vehicle located in the side driveway of the home that was sheltered by an undamaged section of the garage.
People arriving home in the neighborhood found one end of Pine Acres Drive blocked off on Wrentham Road, and fire apparatus set up on the section in front of the home. The hot temperatures of the day on Friday also required the fire command to rotate out firefighters for rehab and fluids as the smoky battle continued.
Poirier said the cause of the fire was unknown Friday night, and he was awaiting the arrival of representatives of the state fire marshals office to begin an investigation.
“When I pulled up on scene the front of building was fully involved with fire and showing extension in the attic area,” Poirier said.
The first fire company on scene, Engine 5, arrived from the South Station on Wrentham Road and was able to get a line into the main floor of the structure to knock down heavy flames, Poirier said.
But at that point the fire was into the attic area and continued to spread through the upper level as additional local companies, and mutual aid support from nearby communities such as Blackstone, Woonsocket and Milford, joined the firefighting effort. By 6:20 p.m. the fire had largely been brought under control, but the main front section of the building showed extensive
damage as fire crews mopped up with aerial truck lines onto the burned-away roof and from open partitions of the side walls.
Colleen Douglas, 63, of Lakeville Circle said she had been heading over to the Li’l General Store on South Main Street when she saw heavy smoke coming from the new section of Pine Acres Drive off Wrentham Road. “I called home and said close all the windows because of the smoke,” she said while noting her six month old granddaughter had been at home with other family members.
Watching the firefighting effort from a home near 10 Pine Acres Drive, Douglas said the homeowner had indicated after getting to safety that she had “just grabbed the kids and ran across the street,” after discovering the home to be on fire. The woman’s husband had gone to Boston to pick someone up and she had been at the home with their twin daughters, Douglas said.
“Everyone got out. That is the main thing when there is a fire. Thank God for the fire department and the police,” she said. “And the neighbors, too.”