Pile of rags from refinishing furniture causes major fire at Northborough home
NORTHBOROUGH — Oil-soaked rags that spontaneously combusted are what caused a fire Saturday that heavily damaged a Whitney Street home, a fire official said.
The Fire Department responded at 6:15 p.m. Saturday to a report of a fire at 162 Whitney St., a single-family home that was built in 1914. The caller said the fire was on the front porch.
"When companies arrived on scene, they had heavy fire from the front of the building," said Fire Chief David Parenti on Monday. "At that time, they couldn't tell if it was just on the porch or if it had spread inside."
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Firefighters from Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, Marlborough and Shrewsbury began to fight the fire, discovering that it had spread from the porch into the home, the chief said.
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Firefighters had to open several holes in the wall and on the roof to get to the fire, Parenti said. Firefighters were at the scene until about 10:30 p.m., he said.
Along with the fire departments at the scene, Patriot Ambulance also assisted at the fire while the Berlin Fire Department provided station coverage.
A Southborough firefighter suffered "heat-related" injuries and had to be taken to a local hospital while fighting the two-alarm fire, Parenti said.
The two residents, a husband and wife who had lived in the house for more than 30 years, got out on their own and were not injured.
The couple told investigators they had been refinishing some furniture on the front porch and went inside to make dinner.
"They were inside when they heard a strange noise coming from the porch," said Parenti. "They saw the fire and rushed out the back door. They didn't even have time to grab anything. The wife didn't have her purse and the husband did not have time to put shoes on and was barefoot."
The issue, Parenti said, was that the couple was using linseed oil to refinish the furniture, then left the rags covered with the oil in a pile on the porch.
"Whenever you use linseed oil, you have to spread out the rags," Parenti explained. "You can't leave them piled up or crumpled because they will combust."
Parenti said the home is valued at about $189,900 and he estimated approximately $100,000 worth of damage.
The home is not habitable and the residents are staying with family, he said.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Northborough MA house fire caused released by fire department
