A New Bedford residence was engulfed by fire yesterday afternoon, resulting in injuries to both a resident and a firefighter. Boston 25 reports that the New Bedford firefighting units, confronted with thick smoke and aggressive flames upon their arrival at the Topham Street location, rushed to tackle the blaze.
Amidst their efforts, a resident was severely burnt and subsequently transported to Rhode Island Hospital, as per Boston 25. The fire, which was intensified by oxygen when windows boarded up on the house's right side were opened, encountered an additional complicating factor due to solar panels installed on the dwelling, which hindered firefighters' abilities to quell the flames effectively. Local fire officials and the State Fire Marshal have commenced an investigation into the fire's cause.
A firefighter also suffered a minor foot injury during the response and received hospital treatment. This was reported by NBC 10, which also mentioned the firefighting team’s work in suppressing residual hotspots well into the evening hours.
Deputy Chief Daniel Coons explained that the seemingly innocuous act of opening two windows to battle the fire, ended up fueling it further. "We had two windows that are boarded up on the delta side, which is the right hand side. The minute we opened that up, it introduced oxygen. It ignited some of the fire underneath the solar panels," he told NBC 10.
