Crews battle Barrington house fire

Officials say fire started in basement, spread through the walls

By Josh Bickford
Posted 12/6/17

Firefighters from four towns were battling a house fire in Barrington late Wednesday night, Dec. 6.

 

Crews from Barrington, East Providence, Seekonk and Warren responded to 15 Bowden Ave. …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Crews battle Barrington house fire

Officials say fire started in basement, spread through the walls

Posted

Firefighters from four towns were battling a house fire in Barrington late Wednesday night, Dec. 6.

Crews from Barrington, East Providence, Seekonk and Warren responded to 15 Bowden Ave. at about 10:15 p.m. after a neighbor spotted smoke coming from the home and called 911. 

 

Andrew Prete said he could hear the automatic generator located just outside Sam and Dorothy Abram's house turning on and off just after 10 p.m. He went outside to see why the generator was running and quickly spotted the smoke. He ran to the front door of the Abrams' home — a handsome three-story house that rests just a few hundred feet from the Barrington River. Mr. Prete said the door was already open and he could see that Mr. Abram was doing his best trying to douse the blaze with a fire extinguisher. 

Mr. Prete urged Mr. Abram to leave the house. A moment later, Mr. and Mrs. Abram left the house, and a minute later, Barrington firefighters arrived on the scene. They called for backup and by about 10:30, more than a dozen firefighters were working feverishly to extinguish the fire. 

 

Officials believe the fire started in the basement, possibly in the furnace, and then spread into the walls. 

By 10:45, a team of Barrington firefighters attacked the blaze from the roof — one cut a hole in the roof with a chainsaw to vent the fire, while the other spotted him. Smoke billowed out of the home, seeping from under the roof. As the firefighters ripped open the hole in the roof, flames leaped out of two second story windows. Just a few seconds later the flames were replaced by thick black smoke. 

Glass crashed as other firefighters broke windows in an effort to ventilate the house. They carried two water lines in through the front door. 

Neighbors crowded nearby yards to watch, while Mr. and Mrs. Abrams stood in the Prete's driveway.

The Abrams said their two cats and a bird were still inside the house. 

As crews worked to contain the fire, a firefighter from Seekonk found himself trapped inside the home on the second floor. He called for help and other firefighters quickly worked to locate the trapped Seekonk firefighter and help him to safety. He was later transported to the hospital by ambulance.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.