EASTHAMPTON — Firefighters extinguished a building fire at 97-99 East St. early Sunday night that displaced several people, but it was the actions of a civilian that may have saved one occupant’s life.
Fire Chief Christopher Norris said Monday he learned later that, before firefighters arrived, a neighboring man helped get one of the occupants, who uses a wheelchair, to safety.
“If he didn’t take the actions that he did, the outcome for that occupant could have been potentially much worse,” Norris said. “That individual, that neighbor, certainly saved this guy’s life.”
Norris said he has spoken to the rescuer, and the department is looking into recognizing him and his family.
The Fire Department was alerted to the fire at around 6 p.m., according to a post on its Facebook page, and on arrival found a significant amount of fire coming out of the first floor of a three-story building.
Officials said the fire was contained to the lower level of the house, although the upper floors sustained smoke damage. Mutual aid was received from multiple different fire departments.
Norris said the fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes, but extensive work then had to be done knocking down walls and hidden spaces to check for hidden fires. He said that he had no estimate on the financial cost of the fire’s damage at this time.
An investigation by the state fire marshal’s office, in conjunction with city fire and police, found the fire to have been caused by the careless disposal of smoking materials. Norris said that the case has since been turned over to the building inspector.
The department also said that a working smoke detector alerted the building’s occupants to the fire, and that the Red Cross is working with those displaced by the blaze to find them temporary housing.
Norris said the building is a five-family home, although he knows of only three people who were displaced, all of whom are working with the Red Cross.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.