- Department of Fire Services
Media Contact for Palmer House Fire Prompts Smoking Safety Reminder
Jake Wark, Public Information Officer
PALMER — An early morning fire that badly damaged a four-family home in Palmer yesterday started accidentally with a lit cigarette near a porch stairway, said Palmer Fire Chief William J. Bernat Jr., Palmer Police Chief Christopher J. Burns, and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey.
“There’s no truly safe way to smoke,” said Chief Bernat. “But if you or your guests must smoke, please use a heavy ashtray with water or sand and remember to put it out, all the way, every time. Cigarettes and other smoking materials can and do cause deadly fires, and we’re extremely fortunate that no one was injured here.”
“As the weather warms up, we start to see more people stepping outside to smoke,” said State Fire Marshal Ostroskey. “That means more fires that begin with smoking materials tossed on the ground, dropped into planters, or stubbed out on railings and stairways. These fires are especially dangerous because they can grow to a large and dangerous size before anyone inside is aware of them.”
The Palmer Fire Department responded to 1035-1037 Pleasant Street at about 4:15 yesterday morning to find heavy fire in the area of a porch on the right side of the building. The fire had extended into the first and second floors of the structure. Firefighters also encountered downed power lines, limiting access to the building, but made entry and had the bulk of the fire extinguished within the hour.
The origin and cause of the fire were investigated by the Palmer Fire Department, Palmer Police Department, and State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office. The joint investigation determined that the point of origin was close to a set of porch stairs on the right side of the building, and that the cause was a discarded cigarette that ignited combustible materials nearby.
The fire departments of Three Rivers, Bondsville, Wilbraham, Ware, Monson, Ludlow, and Warren provided mutual aid at the scene and the Brimfield Fire Department provided station coverage. The Red Cross of Massachusetts is assisting displaced residents.
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