Press Release  Home Fire Sprinklers Extinguish Basement Fire in Dennis

DENNIS — Automatic fire sprinklers extinguished a fire in the basement of a multi-family home on Division Street this week, said Dennis Fire Chief Robert Brown, Dennis Police Chief John Brady, and State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey.

“A fire in a multi-family home has the potential for devastating tragedy, but in this case sprinklers put out the fire and contained the damage to a single piece of furniture,” Chief Brown said. “Without sprinklers, this could have been a very different story.”

Shortly after 1:10 on Tuesday afternoon, Dennis firefighters responded to the area of 133 Division St. following a 9-1-1 call for a fire in the basement. On arrival, they found that fire sprinklers had extinguished the fire prior to their arrival and contained the damage to a table on the left side of the basement. There were no injuries or damage to the structure.

“Home fire sprinklers save lives and protect property,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. “They are the fastest way to put water on a fire until firefighters arrive.”

The Dennis Fire Department, Dennis Police Department, and State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office jointly investigated the cause of the fire. That investigation revealed that the fire had been intentionally set by a person in distress who had threatened to burn the house down. Dennis Police located this person, who was transported for evaluation and will face charges at a later date.

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