Mansfield Fire Assists in Barn Fire in Norton

The assisted  on Wednesday. Norton was spread thin during the day, putting out two Norton fires and an Easton fire. While no one was hurt from the Norton fires, one Easton resident and Norton firefighter were sent to the hospital for injuries.

At 5:47 p.m., the department received a call from a neighbor on Fordham Drive who saw through the woods that a barn at 86 Barrows St. was engulfed in flame. The Norton engine arrived on scene first and worked to contain the two-story, 40 x 30 structure so that it did not affect the house, which was about 40 feet away. Barrows Street was closed off to gain access to a fire hydrant on the opposite side of the street.

At the time Norton Fire Department was also putting out an oven fire on Godfrey Drive that began just seven minutes earlier, so they could not assign all on-call firefighters to Barrows Street. Engine 1 was reassigned and a Mansfield engine was called in immediately and boosted the pressure at the fire hydrant and assisted with man power.

“We had to take a defensive attack,” said Fire Captain Kent Campbell. “There was no going in the barn because there was too much fire.” He also noted there were propane tanks inside, which caused two explosions. The Highway Department arrived on scene to soak down the structure with 20,000 gallons of water to keep the fire from sparking up again once it was put out.

No one was injured in the Barrows Street fire, not even the chickens that lived inside. However one firefighter sustained injuries in a fall while carrying fire supplies back to the station and was sent to Sturdy Memorial Hospital.

“Maybe some orthopedic injuries, definitely some soft-tissue bruising and stuff, but nothing life threatening,” Campbell said. They kept him for a short while to get x-rays and was then released.

All fire units clear the scene at 11:30 p.m. The structure and all equipment inside is deemed a total loss, estimating at $50,000. The cause of the barn fire is still under investigation.

“The cause may be difficult to determine because of the loss,” Campbell said.

Easton Fire Department covered Norton headquarters while Attleboro Fire Department covered the Chartley station.

Also yesterday, Norton was the first on the scene of an caused by a microwave. A resident was sent to the hospital for experiencing a shortness of breath.