PRESS RELEASE November 20, 2013

At 9:21 AM this date, the Amherst Communications Center received a report from a passerby of a fire in the rear of a home at #214 Glendale Road in Amherst. First arriving engine companies and police reported heavy fire visible in the rear of the two-story, wood frame house. A Box alarm was struck, summoning all on and off-duty personnel. Crews found an addition in the rear of the home fully involved in fire, with heavy smoke and heat throughout the main floor of the house. Windows in the addition had already shattered as a result of the fire. Crews advanced an attack line and knocked down the bulk of the fire from the outside, then forced entry through the locked front door and advanced a hose line into the house to search for occupants and extinguish the fire. The house was found to be empty. Crews extinguished the fire and checked for extension into the attic; no extension was found. The fire was extinguished within half an hour. WMECO shutoff power to the building and two outside propane tanks were shutoff. There were no injuries. Damage to the inside of the home was extensive and so is uninhabitable. The town’s building and electrical inspectors were on scene and have condemned the structure. At this time there is no estimate available for the dollar loss for the damage. The home owners arrived after the fire had been extinguished. The Red Cross was on scene and will be making housing arrangements for the family. Fire investigators from the Amherst fire and police department are still on scene at this time conducting an investigation. At this time the fire is not considered suspicious. On-duty firefighters responded with a pumper, ladder truck, and an ambulance; other resources that responded included the student volunteer engine company with a pumper, the Call Force with a pumper, the three Chief Officers, the department chaplain, and three off-duty career firefighters with the rescue truck.

Assistant Chief Lindsay Stromgren

"Your Safety is our Business"