Fire crews from across Franklin County were pushed to the brink Thursday morning as a three-alarm blaze ripped through a property on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell. Thick smoke, intense heat and fast-moving flames that started in an attached barn and spread into the home kept firefighters grinding for hours, while a steep uphill water supply operation turned the scene into a full-on rural firefight. Investigators were called in and officials had not released a cause as crews chased lingering hotspots.
According to the Greenfield Recorder, the house at 131 Wickett Pond Road belongs to 84-year-old Robert Bowers, who watched alongside family members as firefighters tried to save what they could. The Recorder reported that the first call came in around 8:14 a.m., and Chief Matt O’Donnell described a "heavy fire" in a barn attached to the one-and-a-half-story home that quickly began threatening the main structure. As flames climbed into the second floor, crews rotated out to avoid heat exhaustion while grabbing valuables from inside and hauling them to safety.
WWLP reported that firefighters attacked the blaze from both inside and outside the building and also took to the air for elevated operations. Additional mutual-aid departments, including Warwick, Belchertown and Northfield, responded to help at the scene. Photographs that ran with media coverage were credited to the Greenfield Fire Department, and officials told reporters that the cause of the fire has not yet been released to the public. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Water supply slowed suppression
Getting water to the top of Wickett Pond Road turned into its own battle. Crews first tried to run a direct line from Wickett Pond, but the long distance and steep uphill grade made that a losing game. Firefighters instead set up three portable holding tanks and relied on a rotating line of tanker trucks to shuttle water up to the fire, as the Greenfield Recorder reported. The tanker shuttle, combined with sweltering conditions, slowed the knockdown and led Chief O’Donnell to strike a third alarm around midmorning so more personnel could cycle in while exhausted crews rested. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ Special Operations unit and the State Fire Marshal’s Office also responded to assist, according to the same report.
What’s next
Investigators stayed on scene into the afternoon while crews soaked remaining hotspots and surveyed the damage, and officials have not released any estimate of the loss. The Recorder noted that the home dates to the 1700s and reported that Bowers told the paper the barn fire started after a lawn-tractor belt seized. He also said he does not carry homeowner insurance. Local officials are asking residents to steer clear of the area while work continues and to contact authorities with any information related to the incident.
