Raw video: Woonsocket, Rhode Island three-alarm fire. Two multi-family homes damaged.
Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz has a tenant’s perspective on this fire
A fire yesterday around noon damaged two multi-family homes on Rebekah Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Firefighters arriving on scene from the North Main Street Fire Station found the flames erupting from the upper floors of 97 Rebekah St. and spreading over to the eaves and roof of a similar five-family building close by at 105 Rebekah. The responding company set to work knocking down the fires at both structures, according to Deputy Fire Chief John Danis, scene commander.
“They knocked down the fire on the outside of 105 Rebekah Street and then went inside 97 Rebekah St. to attack the fire on the second and third floor of that building,” Danis said. The second-floor back apartment, where the fire is believed to have started, was unoccupied, he said.
Fire companies from Cumberland and Bellingham helped local firefighters fight the flames spreading to the eaves and attic of 105 Rebekah St., while the rest of the city’s fire companies focused on the heavier fire burning in 97 Rebekah St., Danis said. Fire companies from North Smithfield, Blackstone and Burrillville also assisted the local fire crews in controlling the fires in the densely-built neighborhood.
The 105 Rebekah St. extension was quickly extinguished by the fire crews and the 97 Rebekah St. blaze was brought under control within an hour to an hour-and-a-half, Danis said.
Video above from ProvidenceFireVideos.com. Check out their library of high quality videos. It would make a nice holiday gift for a firefighter friend or loved one.
Matt Gregoire of ProvidenceFireVideos.com gave this description of the fire:
Engine 3 arrived and reported heavy fire from the rear of building extending to the exposure. An aggressive interior attack was initiated on both buildings. The exposure was quickly brought under control but fire had taken control of the attic and forced firefighters to evacuate the building and fight it from the outside.
The fire quickly reached 3 alarms bringing in Blackstone, Bellingham, No. Smithfield and Cumberland Hill to the scene.
