OXFORD, Mass. (AP) —
Fire officials say a malfunctioning woodstove caused a blaze that killed a 93-year-old woman in her Massachusetts home last month.
The state Fire Marshal’s office on Thursday released the cause of the Dec. 14 fire in Oxford that killed Josephine Mulvey.
First responders were called to the home at around 7:45 p.m. Efforts to contain the blaze were complicated by a lack of fire hydrants in the rural area. Firefighters had to use a tanker truck to bring water to the home.
Mulvey’s death was not the only woodstove-related loss in the state last year. A Warwick woman and four of her five children died in a woodstove fire last March.
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OXFORD, MASS. — State police continue to investigate the cause of a fatal fire that destroyed a home at 16 Sacarrappa Road Thursday night.
Authorities had not released the victim’s identify as of Friday.
The cause of the blaze is not believed to be suspicious, according to the Fire Department. It was reported by a resident who arrived home as the building was going up in flames, according to Interim Fire Chief Paul Ford. Firefighters found it difficult initially to find the victim because of hoarding conditions in the building.
Two firefighters were injured in the fire. They were treated at a local hospital and released, fire officials said. Two pets died in the fire, authorities said.
On Friday morning, with the roof of the house gone, investigators sorted through rubble. The building is the last home on the Lovett Road side of Sacarrappa Road, which is divided by a closed bridge. In the yard were two large travel trailers, a boat and various other pieces of equipment, along with a large pile of logs. There were numerous “No trespassing” signs around the property.
David and Terry Harackiewicz, who live at 37 Sacarrappa Road, said the closed bridge poses safety problems. They said it has been out for five years and their understanding is the town has no plans to replace it. Mr. Harackiewicz said there is a new pumping station a quarter-mile away near Sutton Road, but it could not be used to pump water directly to the fire because of the closed bridge.
“We’d be a lot more comfortable if there was a hydrant nearby,” he said.
The Harackiewiczes said they did not know the residents of the house personally, but believed a woman and her mother lived there.
At the bottom of the driveway is a poster attached to a piece of plywood promoting the book, “The Rich, the Poor and the Law,” by Josephine Mulvey. Ann Marie P. Mulvey is listed with the state Registry of Deeds as owner of 16 Sacarrappa Road.