STRONG – A family of three lost everything yesterday in a fire on North Main Street, according to Strong Fire Chief Duayne Boyd.
Shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, Strong Fire and mutual aid partners were dispatched to 75 North Main Street for a report of a structure fire. The two-story single family residence was completely involved when Strong Fire personnel arrived on the scene.
Both the homeowner and a passerby called in the fire at about the same time. The residents were inside the house when they became aware of the fire, but they were all able to get safely out of the building, Boyd reported.
Crews from Strong, Farmington, New Vineyard, Kingfield, and Phillips all responded to the scene, along with a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) from Wilton. A RIT is a team of firefighters on standby to assist with rescuing other firefighters who may become trapped or injured while inside a burning structure. Wilton’s RIT was cleared from the scene fairly early on as it became apparent that there would be no interior attack on the fire due to the involvement. NorthStar EMS and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.
Between 30 and 35 firefighters were on scene for the incident.
The temperatures were around zero degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill factor, although the conditions were better than Friday’s wind chill of 40 below. The Nazarene Church of Strong, located directly across from the burning house, opened up the church building for fire crews to warm up and get hot coffee. In addition, community members provided coffee and snacks, and the White Elephant donated pizzas for the crews still on scene later in the evening.
North Main Street and side streets were closed for several hours during the incident.
With the fire largely contained and knocked down, most of the crews on scene were released between 4 and 5 p.m.. Strong crews remained on scene until around 9:30 p.m.
Boyd said that they brought in an excavator to knock down parts of the structure to allow crews to finish extinguishing the fire. Sunday morning, the excavator was back on scene to move parts of the metal roof and open access to some lingering hot spots.
A car parked in the driveway was damaged during the fire, and the house was a complete loss. Boyd reported that the home was insured. At this point, he said they believe the cause of the fire was ‘accidental’.
The American Red Cross has been contacted to assist the family.
