Goshen firefighters were called mutual aid to the Town of Chesterfield for a box alarm at 0056 hours on Monday, July 23rd for a report of heavy smoke in the basement.
When Chesterfield Fire Chief Dave Hewes arrived on scene, he confirmed the structure fire and had dispatch complete his first alarm. Williamsburg fire set up water supply. Crews from Cummington and Worthington also assisted at the fireground. Huntington, Westhampton and Plainfield fire responded to their respective stations for station coverage in the event another incident was reported in any of the towns actively fighting the fire in Chesterfield. An Eversource crew was also called in to cut power to the building.
A family member who was home alone at the time was alerted to the fire by working smoke detectors in the building and called 911. Chesterfield firefighters were able to quickly attack and extinguish the fire in the basement and halt its spread to the rest of the building. Firefighters then worked to clear smoke from the structure using positive pressure ventilation.
Highland Ambulance personnel were on scene to monitor the vital signs of firefighters who worked the interior of the structure.
The State Fire Marshall’s Office was called in to investigate the cause of the blaze. Temperatures in the basement reached over 400 degrees Fahrenheit as witnessed by the amount of melted plastic and PVC pipe in the area.
No injuries were reported. A Chesterfield firefighter was able to rescue the family cat from the home during operations. The cat quickly made a bee-line to the nearby woods once they made it outside. Fortunately, the cat was found safe later in the day.
A very humbled and grateful homeowner later expressed her gratitude at the number of volunteers that showed up to save her home.