NORTHAMPTON — Emergency responders from five area communities battled a brief blaze in a Dunphy Drive home this morning.
Public safety officials said they responded to reports of a blaze at 41 Dunphy Drive at about 7:20 a.m. When crews arrived, fire was going through the roof of a single family home. Emergency responders were able to quickly extinguish it, according to fire officials.
Two people were home at the time smoke detectors went off, Northampton Fire Chief Duane Nichols said. They were able to get out safely with most of their animals, however they lost a few reptiles in the blaze.
“I think there were a couple lizards and a snake that didn’t make it,” he said. “They were able to get out three or four dogs, and a couple cages of reptiles.”
Authorities could not yet estimate the extent of the damages to the home and had not determined a cause as of noon Monday.
Asked where the fire originated, Nichols said he had “investigators on the scene still looking into that.”
Damage to the home was extensive, but it may be salvageable, Nichols said.
The home’s residents were coordinating with relatives and the American Red Cross for temporary lodging, he said.
Northampton, which sent three engines and a ladder truck to the scene, received help from the neighboring communities of Easthampton, Hadley, Southampton and Amherst. The latter two towns dispatched ambulances while Easthampton sent an engine crew, officials said.