A three-alarm fire tore through a home on Wheatland Street on the windy, cold morning of Nov. 8, leaving the house’s roof on the brink of collapse as firefighting operations stretched into the afternoon.
Firefighters were called to a reported structure fire at 4 Wheatland St. between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., Fire Chief Jay Dowling said during a press conference at the scene Wednesday. One person was inside the home when the fire broke out and was able to escape unharmed, Dowling added. Two other relatives were outside the house at the time.
First responders encountered heavy heat and fire on the scene and were quickly ordered out of the building.
All of the city’s fire companies worked to battle the blaze, which Dowling said was “in the house, in the walls, in the attic, in the knee walls.”
“It’s going to be a bit,” he said. “We’re going to be here for a while.”
“The guys and girls are doing a great job. Hopefully, we get out of here soon,” Dowling added.
The building’s balloon-frame construction contributed to the rapid growth of the fire as it “took right off,” Dowling said last Wednesday.
As firefighting efforts continued, police blocked off Prospect Street from Lowell Street to Felton Street, and encouraged residents to avoid the area where the blaze broke out.
Early indications suggested the blaze began outside the home and extended inside due to the wind. Those indications were later confirmed by Fire Captain Chris Dowling on Monday, Nov. 13.
“We were able to determine the area of origin,” Chris Dowling said. “It was in the area of the front stairs.”
However, after an investigation with the state fire marshal’s office and the Massachusetts State Police, the cause of the fire remains unknown.
“We didn’t have any evidence that we could find on the scene or with witness interviews,” Chris Dowling said. “We had to leave the cause as undetermined.”
Jay Dowling said the roof had been compromised at the scene, and firefighters taped off an area of the scene due to concerns it would collapse. Chris Dowling explained that the remains of the building are being evaluated by a structural engineer to see if any of it can be salvaged.
The property is owned by Gregory Lane, who operates his electrical business out of the home, according to Kathy Bettencourt, who runs the nearby Carmelite Sisters’ Holy Childhood Preschool. Lane declined to comment on the situation.
