FEBRUARY 26, 2015
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. (WGGB)
Fire officials believe that a blaze that killed a man
Thursday was accidental.
The fire broke out shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday at home
along Better Way, just off of Boston Road.
Firefighters raced to the scene, arriving at 75 Better Way
less than five minutes after the initial call went out., but by the time they
got inside the home, it was already too late.
Fire officials say that mobile home was engulfed in flames
with a male occupant unable to get out.
“As firefighters entered the building, they found a
50-some-odd male victim on the floor in the rear bedroom, so he obviously
perished before we arrived,” explains Dennis Leger, executive aide to
Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.
The fire destroyed the mobile home, but firefighters were
able to get the blaze under control before it spread to neighboring homes.
Officials have not yet released the victim’s identity. They
believe he died as a result of the fire, but they’ll have to wait for autopsy
results before they can release the exact cause of death.
It’s believed there was no one else inside the home when
that fire broke out.
Leger notes that there were no working smoke detectors in
the unit, and adds that it’s been determined that the fire started in a trash
can in a bathroom. He explains that the exact cause of the fire remains under
investigation, but it appears to be accidental in nature.
The incident remains under investigation.