Firefighters responded to an electrical fire on Pentecost Road in Northfield on Tuesday evening. STAFF PHOTO/Mary Byrne
NORTHFIELD — Damage from an electrical fire that began in a bedroom on Pentecost Road remained minimal thanks to smoke detectors alerting the family of the fire.
“The homeowner knocked it down with a fire extinguisher,” said Fire Capt. Michael Quinn. “We finished extinguishing it with a minimal amount of water.”
Firefighters responded to 31 Pentecost Road at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“It was a mattress fire,” he said. “It was contained to the mattress and a tiny bit of bedding next to it.”
Quinn explained that anything with a confirmed fire is now toned in as a first alarm, which automatically calls for mutual aid — in this case, Bernardston, Erving, Gill and Turners Falls fire departments.
Quinn, who wasn’t initially on scene, added that he called in extra tankers in case they were needed.
“I knew that we had very low levels in our tank and we could not support fire flow, even though there was a fire hydrant right outside the house,” he said. “My first lieutenant was there, sized up the situation and canceled all mutual aid.”
Ultimately, he said, homeowners prevented the fire from causing further damage before firefighters arrived.
“Smoke detectors kept that fire minimal because they notified the homeowners very quickly that there was a fire in the house,” Quinn said. “The action of the homeowner hitting it with a dry chemical fire extinguisher also helped.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne
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