Garage ablaze, homeowners must drive to station to alert firefighters

Land line burned, cell phone weak in that part of Little Compton

Posted 1/18/18

LITTLE COMPTON — Fire destroyed the garage but firefighters managed to save a Little Compton house overnight with help from crews from surrounding towns.

Initial response was delayed, Little …

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.


Garage ablaze, homeowners must drive to station to alert firefighters

Land line burned, cell phone weak in that part of Little Compton

Posted

LITTLE COMPTON — Fire destroyed the garage and a car inside, but firefighters managed to save a Little Compton house overnight with help from crews from surrounding towns.

Initial response to the Old Farm Road location was delayed, Little Compton Fire Chief Richard Petrin said, because the homeowners had to drive five minutes or so to the station to report the blaze. The fire destroyed their land line phone connection foiling efforts to call 911, and cell phone coverage is unreliable there.

By the time firefighters arrived, flames had erupted from the garage roof. It took about half an hour to extinguish the blaze.

The garage is a total loss but the chief said damage to the house was mostly limited to smoke and water.

Since there are no hydrants in the area, firefighters had to truck in water to the blaze. Helping out were crews from nearby towns including Tiverton, Westport, Middletown, Portsmouth and Warren.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Old Farm Road runs parallel to Willow Avenue just north of The Commons and the Public Safety Complex.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.