ORANGE — After the Fire Department believed a blaze at 82 Mechanic St. to be under control, area firefighters returned for an unanticipated flare-up Monday afternoon.
Emergency responders received the initial call for a structure fire at 1:22 p.m., according to Orange Fire Chief James Young. Building resident Vernon Gordon said he called to report the fire. The structure, a two-story apartment building occupied by Gordon, Shelly Chaplin and Robbie Bergquist, contains apartments on the first floor in the front, the first floor in the rear and on the second floor.
Young said the fire started in the basement from an unknown cause, resulting in extensive damage to the basement and smoke damage to the first and second floors. No occupants had to be extricated by first responders. The fire was thought to be contained at around 2 p.m., Young said.
While the department stayed on scene to ensure the fire would remain controlled, firefighters observed the fire in the walls, Young said. Mutual aid was then called in again at around 3:20 p.m.
The fire, Young said, had spread through hollow portions of the “balloon-frame construction,” which enables a fire to spread quickly to upper stories. He estimated the two-story apartment building was built in the late 1800s.
“We’ve seen it happen before,” Young said. “It did extend very rapidly.”
The fire, which extended to the first and second floors, reached third-alarm status. Although Young was optimistic that the house would be salvageable before the fire’s resurgence, he said after that it is “most likely not going to be salvageable due to extensive smoke damage.”
Before emergency responders were first alerted, Gordon, who was the only reported occupant at the time, said he first saw smoke coming from the floor of his apartment. He then opened the basement door and the heat “hit (him) in the face.”
“I just came back (home) like five minutes before that, so thank God I did,” said Gordon, who lives in the rear apartment on the first floor.
Gordon said he had no insurance on the apartment. Chaplin, who said she returned after leaving her apartment 10 minutes before the fire, reported that she had insurance. Gordon reported not having plans for where to stay after being displaced, while Chaplin said she might stay with one of her sons.
Belongings that were in the building are expected to be overwhelmingly damaged, Young reported.
“They’re all going to be affected by smoke and water damage at this point,” he said.
In addition, the fire caused burnt wiring and burst pipes, Young said.
Firefighters broke second-floor windows to access the interior using a ladder. A ladder truck was also deployed, allowing firefighters onto the top of the building to breach the roof. Young explained this provided firefighters with improved ventilation and relief from the heat.
“By doing that, it just makes our job that much easier to do,” he said.
The Orange Fire Department reported shortly after 4 p.m. through its Facebook page that electricity in the area had been turned off.
Responding departments included Orange, New Salem, Phillipston, Athol, Northfield, Greenfield, Turners Falls, Montague Center and Shutesbury. Wendell responded for station coverage. Northfield EMS, Orange Fire EMS and the Orange Police Department also responded.
According to Young, the Office of the State Fire Marshal was called in to investigate the blaze’s cause.