The call for the three-alarm fire went out around 3 a.m. Christine and David Nichols along with their three children and dog escaped safely. The Red Cross is helping the family with lodging and financial assistance. A wood stove is being suspected as the cause.
Responding Fire Departments besides Springfield were Chester, Charlestown, Bellows Falls, Ascutney, and West Weathersfield along with Town Highway Department for icing issues, CVPS for power, and CERT [Community Emergency Response Team].
The home was located at 285 Clinton Street, next to the parking lot of the former Bryant Grinder Corporation.
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ReplyDeleteI guess we are not allowed to post about the strange and unusual amount of fires in Springfield?
ReplyDeleteIts budget season.
Deleteor how they co-incedentay are all mysteriously next to or near BrownField's that are under re-development by locals....
DeleteOr in the case of this previous fire, springfieldvt.blogspot.com/2012/11/fire-damages-wall-street-home-in.html, was a smart meter recently installed?
DeleteI hate smartmeters
DeleteI hate paying for electricity
I hate slavery
The Wall Street Fire, I asked the homeowner and yes a Smart Meter was installed just a few days before. The house had electric heat also.
DeleteThose types of comments show your lack of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is all speculation, and based on personal opinion. Many of my neighbor's homes have been installed with Smart Meters for over a year, and there are no complications.
DeleteLet's get it right, the TENANTS alerted the neighbors.
ReplyDeleteSAVE THE CELLAR HOLE!!!!!!!!!!!
Is that a staged photo, or are all those firemen just standing there watching the home burn? The home is less then a 1/2 mile from the fire dept. Practically see each other.
ReplyDeleteAs a Springfield home owner, I'd consider calling those stooges a waste of valuable time. Time better used with a garden hose and the help of able bodied neighbors.
Before commenting, become educated.
Deletelol lets see spray water on fire. gee i dont know if i can do that. i might need to go to college.
DeleteYep you do need to go to college.
DeleteExcuse me? When a house is fully involved by the time the fire department is called there isn't much you CAN do except stay on the outside and spray water. You aren't going to save anything except close by structures at that point. Not to mention, there was a lot of manpower there but they were using ladder trucks to spray water because they can spray a lot more at once than a few hose lines. If you aren't trained to do the job don't criticize the methods you can't understand.
DeleteSo Anon 12/3 9:21 exactly what fire academy did you graduate from? Better yet let me know where you work so I can come arm chair quarter back how well you do you job. Maybe I will think you perform like a stooge. Safely knocking down structure fire do require training and expertise not just pointing your garden hose at it. Yeah the great news is that they are always looking for volunteers. Consider it community service. My guess is you don't have what it takes. Lucky for the rest of us.
DeleteVery true! They talk a lot of smack until they get to the meat and potatoes and then it's umm, shhhhhh, ohhhh, well I'm not sure.
DeleteWe had a smart meter installed on our home a month or so ago and I am waiting for my house to go! My insurance is paid and I have a cellar hole ready.
ReplyDeleteThey say if you spray some lighter fluid on it and light some matches, it will help in getting the desired result from those newfangled Smart Meters. The same thing works with cell phones, computers, microwave ovens, iPads, pesky kittens and oxen.
DeleteActually, if ever you need to...
ReplyDeleteSome Fire fighters use a technique that requires study and practice. I really encourage you to learn about it.
The practice involves spraying water as mist or spray above the fire. This is done to drop the heat temperature first.
Far to often this practice is not followed and water is placed on burning objects and at the fire. This result is like placing gauz on a gunshot wound and allows the fire to spread faster than if the water is also above the heat center.
YOU CAN'T SPRAY H2O OVER A FIRE !
Deleteyou get oxygen and hydrogen BOTH OF THOSE EXPLODE !
Fire Marchal..... You sir, are an idiot
Delete@ anonymous 8:42
Delete.. go fight your fight against women's suffrage elsewhere.
Responding Fire Departments besides Springfield were Chester, Charlestown, Bellows Falls, Ascutney, and West Weathersfield along with Town Highway Department for icing issues, CVPS for power...and removing any smart meter evidence, then leading investigators to the wood stove, which of course would be the obvious culprit.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe some people in this town. Bashing the local fire department now? What's next? We have torn up the school board, the football team, the select board, the police department, prison, HCRS, turning point, Mitt Romney, Obama, smart meters, Phil Babcock, Dylan the dealer, judge Judy, Oprah, the Simpsons, Frank Perotti, The hospital, Terrick Craft the local gang banger, Springfield on the move and who could forget Admin?
ReplyDeleteYou have all done this while hiding behind a keyboard without the worry of being recognized. You all must be so tough! I'm sure if asked about most of the issues you would be the first ones to walk away with your tail between your legs. No I'm not going to say my name either only because I have kids in the school system and I don't want them to be punished for me being outspoken. Believe me you mister, I'm teaching them to speak their minds. When they get to Riverside poor Becky Read is in for a world of hurt.
Getting bak to my point, when your house is burning down I wonder who you will thank after your family is saved. I was a firefighter in the service and a volunteer firefighter in Virginia while stationed there. It isn't as simple as sliding down a brass pole, putting on your gear and driving the shiny red truck to the fire. There is a science to it, sometimes for the safety of the crew they have to wait until the fire burns down a little bit before entering the building. I have lost 3 friends from firefighting I don't see any of you pansies donning a uniform and jumping in. Until you have walked a mile in a firefighters shoes shut the hell up and keep paying your taxes.
Only an anonymous fireman could create such a rant. Worried about being outspoken so he must remain incognito. Sure. Hahahahahaha!
DeleteSounds like you've got some real douche baggy kids there.
DeleteI support your comments! (Not the anonymous replies). Your plea for personal accountability is just. There was once a saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" But now, with the help of remaining unknown to anyone, people feel as if they have the right to tell another person (who has risked their life for others in the past) that they have "douche baggy" kids. I fear what these people are teaching their own children.
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DeleteYou don't need to call people douche bags, idiots, morons or crooks to question how your tax dollars are being spent. Better yet I would be willing to pay more if we could get people like you to pack up and take your tax dollars somewhere else. I sure there are a lot of towns that would welcome you with open arms.
DeleteBy the way I was referring to Anon 10:12.
DeleteWhy not just "shut the hell up and keep paying your taxes" Tax Pay like he says? Moron!
DeleteI too, have taught my children to speak up, does that make them douche baggy? If you are teaching your children to sit down, shut up and believe everything they are taught in public school then you are the douche.
DeleteFor all the armchair firefighter wannabes if you think you know how to do it why don't you volunteer your time and show the SFD "how it's done" I'm sure they are always accepting applications!
I have only dealt with the fire department for a few burn permits and a couple times when I have had a question. They have always been professional and very knowledgeable about what they do. I'm positive that they don't go to a fire just to watch it burn as some of you have said. They are like the military in a way that they have a chain of command. If the person in charge thinks the building isn't safe to enter they don't enter. If the person says go in even if there is a huge fire in the way they don't ask questions, they just do what is asked of them.
They along with police and military members are heroes in my book. Anyone who risks their life for someone whom they have never met is classified as a hero to me. Remember 9/11? The way people treated firemen and police officers? It should be that way all the time. It is too bad that people around here are so closed minded and think the world revolves around them.
Thank you too all the brave men and women who risk their life to protect mine!
That's the pot calling the kettle black.
ReplyDeleteThis fire had nothing to do with a smart meter. It was started by an improperly installed wood stove on a porch! Really who puts a wood burning stove on a wood porch? When the FD got there the structure was already fully engulfed. It also did not help that when the owners left the house the front door was left wide open which provided more than enough draft to pull the fire in and up. Just stating facts.
ReplyDeleteThe good news was that they did not try to heat their home indoors with a propane barbecue which unfortunately takes many lives each year of the stupid and ignorant from carbon monoxide poisoning.
DeleteOMG! A FAMILY just LOST THEIR HOME AND POSSESSIONS!!! Enough already!!
ReplyDeletewas it a worse smell then the biomass plant is going to make ? we are about to loose our town
DeleteYes, no one lives in Burlington anymore because the smell from their biomass plant drove everyone away.
DeleteThe homeowners, whose names Thompson said he couldn’t recall, were provided emergency shelter at a local hotel, he said.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Chief. Best to just forget the names of those whose homes you allowed to be consumed by "defensive fires"! Let's all trundle back to the station now and slack off until the next time we have to get "defensive"!
Gosh Springfield Observer, imagine that, the family didn't have the presence of mind to close their front door in the process of fleeing for their lives from a burning structure. Sure wish they had you sleeping over that night so that you could have served as the doorman.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to Springfield Observer, I believe they simply pointing out a factor on why the fire spread so quickly. Are you aware of OSHA's 2in/2out regulation? Are you also aware the Springfield Fire Department responds with the 2 personnel on duty? To be in compliance with the above mentioned regulation, an interior attack can not begin until another 2 personnel arrive on scene as back-up for the first crew. Considering the only damage was to the structure involved, and no damage to the building six feet away, kudos to the SFD for minimalizing the damage
ReplyDeleteHm, if a house is basically gone seems like the sensible thing to do is kick back and watch the bonfire. Course you could have a fire department that followed the Texas wit's comment about "a house that would have burned to the ground in hours, but the local volunteer fire department managed to keep it burning all night."
ReplyDeleteI think the question should be: WHY should a dwelling, less than a half mile from the fire house, be FULLY INVOLVED before apparatus arrive and additional alarms are sounded?
DeleteSomething is not right here. And I KNOW what it is.
re: "Something is not right here."
DeleteExactly the point! What if a child was trapped inside? What if the structure was the SHRC? Would it also be treated as a defensive measure?
If the total loss of the Ellis Theater, Abby-Lyn Motel, West Winds Farm, many private residences, and the Conn River rescue debacle is any indication, SFD is grossly incompetent. Want proof? Just watch the SAPA films of these fires. Witness for yourself bumbling goobers playing firemen milling around waiting for decisive orders from a non responsive commander. Absolutely unacceptable.
The home and business owners of Springfield deserve better. And the answer has nothing to do with more $600K parade vehicles.
The Ellis in was not a total loss and neither was the Abby-Lynn motel. Neither was the home on Park Street.
DeleteGotta love the complainers of the so-called parade vehicles. That was purchased with the backing of the voters 12 years ago..get over it.
DeleteReference to Battalion Chief, what was your staffing on your first due Engine? 4? 5?. I'm surprised that as an ex-chief you are not aware of other possible factors, what was the time lapse from the first smell of smoke to 911 being called, water supply problems, road conditions, all can play a part. As for a child being trapped, that is the only exception to the 2in/2out rule that allows the first on scene to enter a building with active fire
DeleteHey on this blog you can be who ever you want! Heck I'll be the Springfield bounty hunter/camera guy for Guns and Roses!
DeleteJust because his handle is Battalion Cheif doesn't mean he was an actual firefighter, you sheep are so stupid. I bet you all believe everything you read on the Internet. "My boyfriend is a French model, I met him on the Internet" ring any bells?
I believe Battalion Chief is a Battalion Chief, because he speaks facts and shows knowledge. Versus you arm chair quarterbacks that haven't got a clue or the energy to visit and learn about how your Fire Department operates
DeleteStructure Fire Response
ReplyDeleteCentral Station/Activated Fire Alarm Assignment:
Engine Company: 5
Ladder Company: 5
Yes, I'm aware of the myriad of variables that influence a response. In retrospect, I wish I had taken the trouble to read all the responses on this thread prior to my previous post. My post was NOT intended to point a finger at ANYBODY or assign blame to ANYBODY, particularly the SFD.
There are circumstances which, before arrival and again at a fire scene, simply happen outside of the circle of decision making. Just the way it is.
Career firefighters, trained to do so, will debrief this incident with one goal.....to provide the highest level of response for the safety of Springfield's residents.
When I was on the job, even though it was worlds away from Vermont, I can honestly say that it was extremely rare to encounter a fellow firefighter that considered his work 'just a job'.
I was just trying to prove a point, just as you. The SFD's manpower complement on the first due engine is 2, the station is staffed with 2 firefighter/emt's. I'm sure the guys there would prefer at least 4 on an Engine, at least they could perform an interior attack immediately upon arrival on scene, however with a staffing of 2 there is only so much they can do.
DeleteHowever the people in this town would be up I. Arms if we had 4 people on the payroll at all times. "Our taxes will go way up!" I can see the whining already!
DeleteThis all started when the Adna Brown Hotel was allowed to burn down while the firemen were more interested in pilfering the liquor than putting the fire out. It appears things have not changed.
ReplyDeleteThey serve liquor at the fires? Why wasn't I told, all these years I haven't followed the fire trucks...and now you tell me that they were serving free booze? Where is my hat, do I have to bring my dalmatian along -- I have a red truck already.
DeleteNope your still drunk
DeleteThey serve the best kind.....STOLEN liquor!
DeleteYou are incredibly ridiculous and ignorant. Too bad you don't have the balls to put a name to your post. So much easier to slander hard working people anonymously or do you just think you are clever and witty? Which by the way you aren't.
DeleteThank you Lady Shoteater for putting your own identity out there. Yuk, yuk. Are you a complete idiot? Never mind, we already know the answer. I guess the truth is too much for you to handle thus your menstrual rave about people that post the facts here.
DeleteHaven't seen any facts from anonymous 9:24 yet
DeleteTo bad you can't sue anonymous for Libel and slander
ReplyDeleteYou want a cat fight >>
DeleteStep off of my scratching post.
sue from this blogspot ? a campy cartoony Simpson's
meow... lol
you'd be out of context.
All of the longer term and frequent readers know.
Behind every article is a running theme of enjoyably miserable politically incorrect humor. Long before this blogspot became wide spread and even before I found it, there were the originals, so funny.
So funny, we are still checking in on you..
I think things are going as planned.. I can't wait to burn things in North Springfield, a biomass plant is like disnyland and popcorn. Now all I need is "the current" to put the industrial park on it's driving route 'untill I save up for a new to me used truck!
ReplyDelete