A fire destroyed Thomas and Cynthia Downey’s 2265 square foot home at 19 Mountain View Drive today. Neil Jackson, who lives across the street, and his son Matthew Jackson called the fire in. Nobody was hurt in the blaze.
Submitted photo
Officer Edward Oey of the Belchertown Police Department was just beginning his shift when the call came in at 4:16 P.M. He said that when he arrived there was smoke coming out of the ridge vents.
When Oey arrived at the property, he learned from neighbors that one of the owners of the property was an amputee and he wanted to make sure nobody was inside.
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“We kicked the front door open because they said that the party that was in the house was an amputee…I tried to go through the house, but the smoke was too thick,” said Officer Oey.
Officer Oey then went to the back of the house and removed an air conditioner to try to get inside the bedroom. “It looked like the fire started in the kitchen,” said Oey. During this time, the Jacksons tried to do what they could with the homeowner’s garden hose.
“We knew it wasn’t going to put it out, but we wanted to wet the area,” said Matt Jackson.
EMS Director Craig Bodamer was behind the first fire engine when flames were starting to come through the roof.
“There were already flames coming through the roof and lots of smoke. It looked like it was mostly in the attic and the back side of the house,” said Bodamer.
The Belchertown Fire Department was assisted by the Ludlow and Granby Fire Departments. As there are no fire hydrants in the subdivision where the fire occurred, tankers brought water from a hydrant where Tractor Supply is located.
According to Robert Downey, the brother of Thomas Downey, the homeowners were playing golf when they were notified of the fire. “It’s been a tough couple of years,” he said explaining he and his brother had lost their father in January of this year. Prior to that, Thomas Downey lost his leg as a result of his battle with diabetes, according to Robert.
Matt Jackson, who grew up in the home across the street, said that the current homeowners built the house in the late 1980’s.
As the firefighters put out the blaze, friends and neighbors comforted the homeowners as they looked on from their front yard.
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