Two homes destroyed, another damaged in Portsmouth fire

Multiple units respond to Common Fence Point for early morning blaze

By Jim McGaw
Posted 2/7/18

PORTSMOUTH — A raging fire fueled by winds off the Sakonnet River destroyed two homes and badly damaged another early Wednesday morning in Common Fence Point. 

Three residents who …

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Two homes destroyed, another damaged in Portsmouth fire

Multiple units respond to Common Fence Point for early morning blaze

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — A raging fire fueled by winds off the Sakonnet River destroyed two homes and badly damaged another early Wednesday morning in Common Fence Point. 

Three residents who were displaced from one of the homes on Narragansett Boulevard received shelter at the Common Fence Point Community Hall with the assistance of the Red Cross, said Fire Chief Michael Cranson while directing first responders on the scene around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The occupant of one of the other homes was out of town at the time of the fire, but the status of residents in the third home was not known as of Wednesday morning, he said.

The cause of the blaze had not been determined as of Wednesday morning. The state fire marshal was on the scene.

“It’s too early to tell how it started,” Chief Cranson said. “The state fire marshal’s office and the Portsmouth Police Department are both on scene, doing the investigation.

“We’re still trying to figure out in which house it started. We’ll be lucky to determine that, never mind where in the house it originated. But every few minutes there are more investigators showing up, so we definitely have enough resources here to figure it out.”

The first call reporting a structure fire came in just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The fire was raging when first responders arrived.

“Unfortunately, just being this close to the water, the wind caused the fire to spread so quickly. I came from just two streets over where I live and they were all fully involved,” Chief Cranson said.

The department immediately struck a second and third alarm, he said.

“We have many surrounding communities that came in to help us. We’ve got help from Newport Navy, Tiverton, Middletown, Bristol, Providence Canteen,” he said, adding that National Grid and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management also responded. JAM Construction Co. was also going to help with cleaning up the scene, he said.

“Red Cross has been on the scene to assist people who have been displaced,” Chief Cranson said. “Red Cross was able to open the community center and that’s initially where the people who were displaced went.”

There were a “couple of minor injuries to firefighters,” he said. “They were treated on scene; nobody was transported to the hospital.”

Portsmouth Fire Department, Portsmouth Police Department, Common Fence Point

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