WESTBOROUGH — Chief Patrick Purcell has reported that the Westborough Fire Department, supported by mutual aid partners in several communities, extinguished a two-alarm house fire on Friday morning.
Westborough Public Safety Communications received a 911 call on Friday, Feb. 24, at 6:29 a.m. from a resident reporting a fire in their living room at 65 Adams St.
First-responding companies arrived within five minutes to find heavy smoke and a working fire in the living room of a single-family Cape-style home. The resident, the lone occupant of the home, was alerted by functioning smoke detectors and had evacuated.
Westborough Fire struck a second alarm requesting mutual aid, with crews from the Grafton, Hopkinton, Northborough, Shrewsbury and Southborough fire departments responding.
The fire was declared under control by about 7:15 a.m. There were no reported injuries.
“Thankfully no one was injured. Responding crews did a great job of knocking the fire down before it spread, in part because the resident was alerted by a working smoke detector,” Purcell said.
Damage is estimated at $500,000. The Westboro Building Commissioner is inspecting the home. The occupant has made housing arrangements with family.
A preliminary investigation by the Westborough Fire Investigation Unit has determined the fire was caused by an overloaded older-style extension cord into which a space heater was plugged.
“We ask residents to be extremely careful when using space heaters or extension cords, especially with another cold front expected this weekend,” Purcell said.
The Westborough Police Department provided support at the scene. The Hopedale and Upton fire departments covered the Westborough Fire Headquarters and responded to several calls in Westborough.
Purcell and the Westborough Fire Department thank their mutual aid partners for their response.