BURRILLVILLE – A fire late Wednesday morning caused significant damage to a kitchen and adjoining room at a building housing the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in Harrisville, with two people at the scene transported for medical care.
Harrisville Fire Department Chief Marcel Fontenault said crews responded to the blaze at 685 Steere Farm Road at 11:19 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14 after an alarm in the building was tripped by smoke. The 32-acre property features a structure with more than 20,000-square-feet of living space on each of three floors including a finished basement, according to town property records, and serves as home to 14 brothers along with building staff.
Fontenault said that when firefighters arrived at the property, “There was a pretty substantial fire in the kitchen.”
The grease fire had extended to the kitchen cabinets, also damaging an adjacent room.
The chief said the blaze was under control in less than 45 minutes with the help of mutual aid, and that the residents were moved to a safe part of the large structure – and would not need to be displaced.
Two people were transported to a nearby hospital with smoke-related injuries.
The State Fire Marshal was on scene Wednesday afternoon investigating the incident.
“Everything appears as though it was an accidental cooking fire,” Fontenault said.
