Davenport home burns

[ Originally published on: Thursday, May 10, 2007 ]

SHELBURNE -- The home of Russell and Martha Davenport, whose family has lived and worked in town for generations, was destroyed by a fire Wednesday afternoon.

The Davenports are the owners of the Davenport Maple Farm at 111 Tower Road.

"They are one of the original farm families in the Shelburne community," First Congregational Church Reverend Phyllis Evelyn said.

Their home is just under the old fire tower, on a hill that overlooks their farm.

"I'm very sorry to hear this. Very sorry to hear this. I hope that in the days ahead we'll find ways as a community to help Russ and Martha in any way that we can," Shelburne Selectman Joseph Judd said Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday night, the Davenports were expected to stay with their daughter, Barbara Goodchild.

Goodchild said that she believed her parents have insurance.

Neither of the Davenports had been home at the time of the fire. Russell Davenport had a doctor's appointment and Martha Davenport had a hair appointment.

At about noon, the fire was first reported by the fire tower, Shelburne Fire Capt. Robert Manners said. Soon after, there was another call from the farm.

The Davenports' son, Norman, and his wife, Lisa Davenport, who live just below Russell and Martha, tried to put the fire out themselves with a hose on the property. The Davenports' grandson, Fred, who's a member of Shelburne's volunteer Fire Department, rushed to the fire station and was in one of the fire trucks that rushed up the hill to extinguish the fire, said Evelyn.

Long, orange flames shot upward from the front windows and through the center of the Davenports' steep cedar shake roof. Occasionally, the sound of pops and cracks could be heard.

Firefighters sprayed the house with water and foam, sending up large clouds of dark and light smoke that could be seen for miles. More smoke billowed from a large metal cylinder standing just at the front of the house.

Grass and brush surrounding the house burned out in a semi-circle, with small flames leading to the front of the semi-circle, until one firefighter extinguished it with a garden hose. The breeze carried embers and caused a number of spot brush fires, Manners said.

Large, yellow hose, 4 inches in diameter, snaked up the steep Tower Road for approximately 1500 feet to reach the Davenports' home, which, at the peak of Mount Massamett, is one of the most highly elevated in Shelburne.

After about a half-hour, the front part of the roof had caved in or burned off. Flames appeared to fill almost the entire house. Although it was breezy, the sun was burning brightly, causing sweat to bead down the foreheads of some fully geared firefighters near the scene who tried to cool off by drinking bottled water. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.

Firefighters battled the fire for about four-and-a-half hours, getting it under control at about 4:30 p.m., Manners said.

Manners thought that the damage done might be upward of $150,000 between the loss of the storage outbuildings, furniture and so forth. The outbuildings, about 40 feet northwest of the house, were destroyed, the Davenports' home was gutted, and their roof burned off.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation Wednesday evening.

The Shelburne Fire Department led the firefighting, with the Buckland, Greenfield, Colrain and Shelburne Falls fire departments, Shelburne Police Department and Baystate Health Ambulance assisting.

Russell Davenport is active in the Arms Historical Society, is well-known in the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, is a former selectman, has been involved with the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, and is active in his church, among other things, Evelyn said.

Martha Davenport is on the board at the Shelburne Senior Center, works at the Red Cross, and has long been a choir member at First Congregational Church.

The First Congregational Church will accept donations for the Davenports.

If you would like to make a donation, you can send it to the Davenports, c/o First Congregational Church, 22 Church Common Road, Shelburne, MA 01370. The church can be reached at 625-0028.

Well wishers are asked to hold off on donating items for a week, and to contact the family later to see what they might need, Evelyn said.

 

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