BURRILLVILLE – A fire that started in the basement caused damage to a home on Victory Highway in the early morning hours on Thursday, May 9, displacing a family of eight.
One firefighter was injured while fighting the blaze, which was called in at 3:51 a.m. according to East Burrillville Fire District Chief Joseph Bertholic.
Town fire units responded to the 2.5 story structure at 1265 Victory Highway, a residential home occupied by six adults and two children. According to town property records, the home was built in 1918 and sold last year at a cost of $710,000.
Bertholic said the blaze was called in by the occupants, and all members of the family were out safely when firefighters arrived.
“To get it under control it was probably 30 minutes,” Bertholic said of the response. “To completely extinguish it, it took us a couple of hours.”
The chief said the firefighter who was injured was already back to work Friday morning.
“He tripped over a hose in the yard and sprained his wrist,” Bertholic said.
The chief describes the damage as, “moderate,” and noted it was kept to just a portion of the house, including the basement and part of the first floor.
“It’s a really big single family home,” he said. “There is some smoke damage through the rest of the home but that can be cleaned up.”
The American Red Cross is reportedly helping the family.
The state fire marshal is investigating the cause.
