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Firefighters pulled this debris out of a home at 151 Hallowell Rd. in Jefferson after an accidental fire Jan. 27. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
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By Dominik Lobkowicz
Some quick thinking by a construction crew working on a home at 151 Hallowell Rd. in Jefferson helped contain an accidental fire from spreading through the building Jan. 27, according to Jefferson Assistant Fire Chief Alan Johnston.
Johnston said he believes the fire started in a bathroom closet where a roll of linoleum flooring was stored in front a heat register. The linoleum had not been placed there by the work crew, one of the workers said.
The workers tried to put out the flames with both snow and fire extinguishers, but as the smoke increased, they closed up the building and went outside, cutting off oxygen to the fire.
“You did the right thing by shutting the door, absolutely,” Johnston said to the crew. “You saved it.”
Johnston said he and another firefighter were first on scene, and when they went inside the house they found only the linoleum still burning and threw it outside.
The fire had burned through to the second floor, and firefighters tore out walls around the closet and nearby chimney on both floors to ensure the fire was out, Johnston said.
Fire departments from Jefferson, Waldoboro, Washington, and Windsor and Waldoboro EMS responded to the scene after they were paged out at 9:19 a.m., Johnston said. Fire departments were also started from Alna and Pittston, he said.
