PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Plymouth’s fire chief is crediting a piece of technology with helping to save lives during an early morning house fire.
A passerby called 911 around 2:45 a.m. Saturday to report smoke coming from a home at 80 Nautical Way, Chief Ed Bradley told Boston 25 News.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they reported heavy smoke billowing from the home. They noticed a car parked in the driveway, indicating people were inside.
One group of firefighters entered the home through the garage and into the basement, where they located the source of the fire.
Another group of firefighters entered the home through the first floor to see if anyone was inside.
"They had zero visibility due to the smoke and high heat conditions," Bradley said.
They firefighters crawled through the heat and smoke using a thermal imaging camera that’s built into their mask. The technology helped them located and avoid a hole that had burned through the first floor to the basement.
The firefighters continued their search and were able to determine no one was home. They later learned the homeowner was in Florida for the winter, but workers had been in the home during the past week.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control just before 4 a.m.
Bradley said investigators from the state fire marshal’s office and his department were able to determine the fire started on the first floor in a trash bag full of clothes painters were using to stain woodwork in the home, part of the ongoing repair work.
“The clothes were saturated with woodworking stain, which when parked in the bag, produced spontaneous combustion,” Bradley said. “The fire burned for an undetermined about of time before it was reported.”
The entire home suffered heavy smoke damage throughout, in addition to fire damage in the basement and first floor.
Bradley said no firefighters were injured due to their training and their mask. Every Plymouth firefighter has their own mask that’s equipped with a personal thermal imaging camera allowing them to see through blinding smoke to identify victims and the source of the fire.
“This technology enabled the crews to see the hole burned through the floor in zero visibility which saved them from falling through the floor into the inferno below,” Bradley said. “Professional firefighters rely on their training to perform their job and to keep them safe.”
Bradley added state-of-the-art technology like the in-mask thermal imager is another tool to aid in their mission.
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