Fire damages dwelling in Oxford

Date:  Friday February 24, 2012
Location:  9-11 George St., Oxford

Particulars:   At approximately 11:10 AM on Friday February 24th, Oxford firefighters responded to a reported structure fire at 9 George St., just a short distance away from Oxford Fire Headquarters.  Fire Chief Sherri Bemis was the first to arrive on scene, and was greeted with heavy smoke issuing from the two-story multi-family dwelling

First due Oxford firefighters arrived on scene within minutes of their dispatch and immediately launched an aggressive interior attack to determine the exact location of the fire and to quickly snuff it out.  While Oxford jakes tried to locate the origin of the fire, Chief Bemis quickly struck additional alarms to augment the sparse firefighting force that was initially gathered on scene.

A third and fourth alarm were sounded in rapid succession, bringing mutual aid to the scene from the Auburn and Webster Fire Departments.

The action also brought in members of the Dudley FD to cover the empty Oxford fire headquarters, while Millbury Fire responded to cover Oxford’s north station. After a short search, the fire was located in the ceiling of a second floor bathroom, and it had extended into a large open attic space.  Oxford jakes knocked down the fire in the ceiling and advanced their hoseline into the attic, which was heavily charged with thick smoke, overwhelming heat, and potentially explosive fire gases.

As they attempted to enter the attic to extinguish the fire, another crew of firefighters cut a sizeable hole in the roof to alleviate the heat, smoke and fire gases.  Once ventilation of the attic was accomplished, firefighters inside were able to complete their assignment and extinguish the fire.

One of the building’s two apartments were occupied at the time of the fire, but all the building’s occupants escaped from the building prior to the arrival of the fire department.

Oxford Deputy Fire Chief Cleighton Tourtellotte stated that Rebecca Shelton was on the first floor of one of the apartments, babysitting her two nephews, when she heard a loud bang on the second floor.  When she went to investigate, she saw the fire and got her nephews out of the house.  

No other injuries were reported.

According to Tourtellotte, the fire may have began in a ceiling fan located in a second floor bathroom.  The fire is currently under investigation by the Oxford Fire Department.  The town’s wiring inspector was also called in to assist with the investigation.  Fire officials have set the damage estimate at $20,000.  The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist the occupants of the building.

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