EASTHAMPTON — A fire engulfed a house containing three apartments at 31 Clark St. Thursday afternoon, heavily damaging the building and displacing three families.
The fire was determined to be caused by “careless disposal of smoking material,” according to a state trooper assigned to the state fire marshal’s office.
Residents escaped uninjured but the house was deemed “uninhabitable” by Easthampton Fire Capt. Kevin Benson due to fire, smoke and water damage. Firefighters continued to watch the house through the evening to ensure it did not reignite.
Damage to the home is reported to be “in excess of $200,000,” according to the Easthampton Fire Department. Two houses across the street sustained heat damage and are estimated to have approximately $25,000 of damage combined, according to fire officials.
The Easthampton Public Safety Dispatch center received several 911 calls for a porch fire at approximately 2:10 p.m. Thursday. Arriving crews were hampered because electric utility lines at the house were burning, significantly limiting firefighters’ access, according to the Easthampton Fire Department.
The temperature hovered close to 90 degrees as firefighters battled the blaze, drinking bottled water as smoke and flames billowed from the home. According to Benson, one firefighter was taken to Cooley Dickinson Hospital for treatment of dizziness.
Benson said one cat perished in the fire. Another cat was removed from the home by a resident.
The heat of the flames melted the vinyl siding on a house across the street. Because utility wires were burned, electricity was shut off to some customers.
The Easthampton, Northampton, South Hadley Fire District #1, Holyoke and Westfield fire departments responded to the scene. Southampton Fire Department provided station coverage during the fire. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Rehab unit was called to the scene due to high temperatures.
Edward Horalek lives in the top apartment of the three-family home with his wife. He said his wife was “panicking pretty badly” because she was stuck in a truck behind the house and was unable to drive away from the scene.
Looking on as firefighters doused the flames, tears streamed down Horalek’s face.
The property is owned by Chris Tautznik, 42, of Westhampton. He said a resident called to alert him about the fire when he was working. By the time he arrived on the scene, the road was blocked and the house was charred.
Tautznik rushed through the backyard and was “devastated” by what he saw.
The home, built in 1891, has been in Tautznik’s family for 35 years. “This was home,” said Tautznik. “It is devastating.”
Tautznik began renting one of the apartments from his father, John Tautznik, when he was 18. Around 2001, he bought the property from his father and raised his children there before building a house in Westhampton in 2015 and renting an apartment in the Clark Street property to his daughter.
Tautznik’s daughter, who declined to give her name, lives in one of the apartments with her boyfriend and Tautznik’s granddaughter.
Tautznik’s wife, Erin, called the fire “heartbreaking” as she wiped away tears and looked at the burned house.
“It’s awful. It’s a total loss for some people,” she said. “The house went up like a matchbook.”
The American Red Cross was on the scene to offer emergency services to the families affected by the fire, according to Red Cross representative Judy Marcinowski. She said the organization could supply shelter and “immediate food and clothing if needed.”
The Advance Restoration Group of Easthampton also was at the site Thursday evening. According to a representative, the company will be responsible for boarding up the house and rebuilding in the future.
Hours after the blaze, neighbors paced their lawns and took cellphone photos of the blackened house, the remnants of the front porch crumpled and the air stale with smoke.
A portion of the street remained closed Thursday evening as firefighters investigated the scene and pumped water into the house.
Nearby resident Stacey Waldman said it was “very hot and smoky” in her neighborhood during the fire. She was impressed by the firefighters as she watched them open a nearby fire hydrant and battle the blaze.
“I was driving home … and I saw the flames very close to my house. I was freaking out,” said Waldman. “The firefighters were great. I don’t know how they stay so calm … the flames were flying out of that house.”
Staff writers Sarah Crosby and Fran Ryan contributed reporting.