ROCKLAND (9/4/18) – A fire that burned part of a duplex on Suffolk Street in Rockland, Friday, Aug. 31, has been determined accidental, according to Sgt. Joel Davis of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

A state investigator, with assistance from the Rockland Fire Department, determined that the fire started near a couch in the first-floor living room area.

Though the Friday morning investigation could not positively identify the cause of the fire, “it was most likely due to smoking materials,” Davis said, Tuesday.

According to Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock, a nearby door connecting to the kitchen was open at the time, fueling the fire even more.

The sole occupant of the unit, whose child was staying at the mother’s residence that night, had fallen asleep in the living room. He was awakened and alerted to the fire because of a sensation irritating his throat.  

The two occupants of the other unit were also safely able to evacuate.

ROCKLAND (8/31/18) – Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office continue to assist Rockland Fire in finding the cause of a fire at 16 Suffolk Street that was reported at 2:49 a.m., Friday, Aug. 31.

Tony Esposito owns the three-story, two-unit dwelling at 14/16 Suffolk Street, which has occupancy of three renters in the two units.

“It is believed that the occupant who discovered the fire very fortunately was awoken by smoke irritating his airway,” Asst. Chief Adam Miceli wrote in the department’s fire report.

However, the structure had no working smoke alarms, slowing down the response time. On top of that, it is believed that when the occupant moved to action, he may have opened doors instead closing them or keeping them closed.

According to the report, crew members from A-Shift, under the direction of Asst. Chief Mikial Mazzeo, arrived to find fire billowing from multiple first-floor windows.

The crew “quickly stretched a hoseline and directed water into the first floor to reduce the volume of fire and heat, enabling the crew to quickly move inside and extinguish the bulk of the fire very rapidly,” Miceli said in the report.

Rockland call firefighters and off-duty personnel soon arrived, as did firefighters from Camden and the Rockport department, who happened to be at their station due to a previous call in that town, according to the report.

“The rapid arrival of the duty shift along with Rockport firefighters just behind them allowed the crew to bring the fire under control very quickly,” Miceli said.

Miceli also wrote the following in the report:

It is likely that proper smoke alarms would have given earlier warning resulting in less damage. It also appears the occupant, like a so many, was under the false impression that opening more doors would help limit dangerous conditions, when in fact the opposite is true.

The contents involved in today’s residentials are made of formed petroleum in the form of plastics or other similar fuels which reach their maximum temperatures much faster and therefore consume much greater quantities of oxygen.

In dwellings where the openings are kept closed this rapid consumption of oxygen often leads to “under ventilated” fires which tend to quickly “choke themselves out” moving to the smoldering phase. Where this occurs, a residential-contents fire can actually put itself out by consuming all the available oxygen.

So while conventional thinking would have people opening doors and windows to let the smoke and heat out; leaving and closing the doors behind you is the best course of action, even if there are other people still inside the building.

Chances of survival are greater when the fire cannot grow. Even firefighters tactics have recently been updated to reflect the importance of controlling the airflow in building fires.

….Having greater numbers of available personnel on scene quickly allows many more critical functions to occur simultaneously, and our mutual aid system again proved invaluable in ensuring Rockland firefighters were quickly backed up and augmented.

ROCKLAND – Neighbors near the intersection of Suffolk and Fulton streets in Rockland awakened to the sound of heavy pounding and a voice yelling for help, Friday morning.

Around 2:45 a.m., Friday, Aug. 31, the intersection echoed with the voice of a male in the streets yelling “call 9-1-1,” as a fire, now being investigated by the State Fire Marshall’s Office, engulfed the front side of 16 Suffolk Street.

No injuries occurred, though two adults and a baby are now being assisted by the Red Cross after their side of a duplex caught fire.

Though fire blazed orange from the west facing side of the building, neighbors in houses on the north side of the duplex smelled no smoke, heard no crackling, and only upon being directed, saw a piffle of smoke emitting from the north side of the structure.

Only when the male voice changed tactics from “help” to “call 9-1-1” to “Fire!” were many of the residents understanding of the situation.

Rockland firefighters knocked down the majority of flames within about five minutes of arrival. Then they, along with Camden and Rockport departments, spent another hour and a half subduing hot spots that reignited in the ceiling insulation and roofing tiles.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com