Friday, November 9, 2018

Fire badly damages house on Valley Street


At approximately 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, November 7, the Springfield Fire Department was notified and responded to a reported structure fire at 50 Valley Street.

The structure was reported as an occupied residential building. While en-route to this call, it was confirmed as a working structure fire. The Springfield Fire Department responded and upgraded this response to a second alarm bringing in several mutual aid departments from the area. Upon arrival the fire department was met with heavy fire on the west side of the structure. Fire extended up the exterior and interior walls of this structure spreading to the 3rd floor and roof area. Fire Departments were able to contain the fire to the structure of origin. The building suffered heavy fire and water damage. Damage is estimated to be in excess of $120,000.

During his assessment of the fire, the Springfield Fire Chief Russ Thompson contacted the VT Department of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit for assistance with the origin and cause determination. Investigators from the VT State Police and VT Division of Fire Safety responded to the scene during the morning hours on Thursday and began an investigation. It was determined the fire originated in the west side area of the basement. This area was determined to be the area of origin for this fire. The investigation showed that this fire originated in the area of a pellet stove exhaust pipe and the structures sill plate area. Investigation showed that the fire spread from this area to the nearby combustible materials which were being used as insulation. These materials lead to a rapid fire spread throughout the structure.

This fire is not considered suspicious. No injuries were reported at this fire. The residents were not home at the time of this fire. Numerous pets inside the residence survived the fire without injury.

The building is owned by Michael Hopkins of Springfield, according to town property records. Hopkins owns and operates Hopkins Chimney Care, formerly located in Cavendish.

This fire is currently classified as accidental with no suspicious circumstances. This fire was caused by heat from the vent pipe of the pellet stove in too close a proximity to nearby combustible materials.

Anyone with information regarding this fire is asked to contact the VT State Police barracks in Rutland at 802-773-9101, Detective Senior Sergeant Thomas Williams at 802-773-9101.

Source:  VT State Police and VT Division of Fire Safety


7 comments :

  1. So, a chimney fire destroys the house of a guy who owns a chimney service. Nah, nothing suspicious there!

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah,because accident's don't happen

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think the Chimney guy is the old owner at 48 Valley Street. That building says 50 on it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you look on Google Maps, the property is both 48 and 50 Valley st. There appear to be two entrances on the front. Could be a duplex rental.

      Delete
    2. The buildings address is in fact 48&50 valley street. I used to live there. We moved out because of the fire hazard with the wiring. There were junction boxes in the flooring, out of date cast iron fixtures, and many wires running directly from the breaker box.
      The place was a nightmare. And there was no way for the power company to determine which side of the building used what for electricity, because everything runs together

      Delete
  4. HA HA HA! Unbelievable with STATE OF VERMONT FIRE MARSHAL and STATE POLICE!
    As P T Barnum "THERE'S A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE."

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fire Marshal's Office on Mineral Street is a JOKE! run by a do-nothing who's been coasting for retirement for years now! Try going in there after 3:00 On a Friday and you'll find a ghost town.

    ReplyDelete


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