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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
Three students displaced.
By CARL CRITZ
NARRAGANSETT - Three college students were displaced from their rental
home on 7 Knight St. after an early morning chimney fire extended into the
walls and ceiling of the residence, according to Captain Arnold of the
Narragansett Fire Department.
The alarm came in just before 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, which happened to be
shift change time for the Narragansett Fire Department.
“We were very lucky at that point,” Arnold said. “Some of our guys were
out so we didn’t have two complete shifts but we were able to send 11 or
12 guys that were on duty to the scene.”
Engines 1, 2, 3, and Ladder 1 responded to the scene and found two of the
occupants already safely outside and heavy smoke coming from the
structure. The third resident was not home at the time the fire started,
according to Arnold.
Fire crews had a difficult time battling pockets of flame embedded within
the walls and ceiling surrounding the fireplace, and as a result the
building sustained heavy damage.
Union Fire District units were called shortly after for mutual aid, and
along with Chief Robert Perry and Kingston Chief Nathan Barrington
Kingston’s Ladder 2, and Union’s Engine 3 and Special Hazards 1 were
called at the scene to assist. Union Fire District Engine 1 was also
called to stand by at Narragansett’s headquarters.
During a fire, Chief Perry said it is typical for Narragansett to call for
a task force for mutual aid. “They called initially for another ladder,
and when we got there smoke was pushing out of the eaves but they had the
fire pretty well knocked down,” Perry said. “They were stretched thin,
and when I talked to the Captain in charge he asked for a few more units.”
Although flames spread into a considerable amount of void space in the
walls and ceiling of the structure, fire crews had the smoldering blaze
under control within 30 minutes and cleared the scene by 10:45 a.m.
Fire marshals are still investigating, but Arnold suspects the cause of
the fire was excess creosote buildup in the chimney. If allowed to
accumulate, the unburned by products of wood create a hazardous condition
that will eventually combust like it did on Sunday. “It can be anytime
you light it that it creates a bit of damage every time,” Arnold said.
As soon as they had cleared the scene, Narragansett firefighters were
called once more to a dumpster fire on 75 Lambert St., where a resident
had taken still-smoldering wood stove ashes and disposed of them
improperly.
Once they had knocked down that fire, a rescue unit was called to respond
to St. Thomas Moore Church for an unrelated medical assist, Arnold said. |
