House fire on South Street

Sometime early this morning, a multi-family house at 322 South St. caught fire, forcing residents to flee and sending one youngster to the hospital with smoke inhalation.

The two-family, 1930 house is badly damaged. In the picture above, of course, it's not.

I'll have more later.

By the way, have I mentioned how nice it would be to have a police reporter on the staff again?

Update at 2:45  p.m. --

A two-alarm fire on a South Street house early Friday left two families homeless and put an 11-year-old boy in the hospital after inhaling too much smoke.

Deputy Fire Chief Jay Kolakoski said the blaze began at 5:45 a.m. when a space heater apparently set a mattress on fire in the basement of the 322 South St. house.

Flames reached up behind the walls through the first and second floors and into the attic in the rear of the 1930 house, the deputy chief said.

But the 18 firefighters who ultimately fought the fire were able to put it out without losing the entire structure. It was, however, badly damaged and filled with smoke.

All of the eight people living inside were able to escape, Kolakoski said, but the boy showed signs of breathing in too much carbon monoxide so he was taken to Bristol Hospital. His condition is not known, but he’s likely to recover fully.

A firefighter hurt his knee battling the blaze, the deputy chief said. He was treated and released from the hospital.

Kolakoski said the two families living in the house are being taken care of by the American Red Cross, which often helps fire victims get back on their feet.

He said the fire has been ruled an accident. It appears that an electrical space heater had been placed too close to a mattress, Kolakoski said.

City land records say the owner of the dwelling is Christopher Remillard, who purchased it I 2006. It is assessed for $124,510.

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