Dudley, MA – Firefighters responded to a fire that engulfed side porches and damaged two multi-family buildings early Thursday morning.
At approximately 1:56 AM on Thursday, June 27th, 2024, Dudley Fire Department’s 1st Alarm was struck for a reported structure fire at 13 Central Ave (originally dispatched as 17 Central Ave) with occupants still inside the building trying to rescue animals.
Dudley Engine 2 (E2) arrived on the scene approximately 5 minutes after dispatch, with 2 on-duty and 1 call-back firefighter. The Officer onboard reported heavy fire showing from the D side (right from the front) porches of a 2-and-a-half-story multi-family structure.
A 2nd Alarm was quickly struck when firefighters discovered the fire was also consuming the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building and melting the siding of a neighboring building.
Firefighters were able to quickly cool the neighboring building, keeping the damage contained to the siding, before focusing on an exterior attack on the porches. As the initial crew got the fire “darkened down” (reducing the volume of flames to a manageable level) additional trucks arrived on the scene to perform a search of the building. The primary and secondary searches revealed that all occupants had made it out of the building and several pets (at least 3 cats and 1 snake) were later rescued from the building.
Several hand lines were deployed through the front door to gain a foothold on the interior fire. Crews made a quick knockdown on the fire but spent hours chasing hotspots which expanded into void spaces between floors and porches. Interior firefighters ended up breaking through a wall to access a hotspot burning along the porch roof line.
Throughout the fire, water was supplied through a 5″ Large Diameter Hose (LDH) from a hydrant approximately 250′ away on Cross St.
The fire went to a 3rd alarm before the incident concluded.
The Massachusetts State Fire Marshals Office is investigating the incident.
Agencies that responded, or were dispatched, included the Dudley Fire Department, Webster Fire Department, Auburn Fire Department, East Putnam Fire Department, Southbridge Fire Department, Charlton Fire Department, Sutton Fire Department, Douglas Fire Department, Oxford Fire Department, Quinebaug Volunteer Fire Department, Webster EMS, Special Signal Association Providence Canteen, and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshals Office.
