By Ron Ayotte, Contributing Writer.
UPDATE: The firefighter reportedly hurt on the job, March 8, has been released from the hospital after slipping on ice and injuring his ankle.
A fast-moving fire tore through a residence in one of Marlborough’s oldest and most congested neighborhoods on the morning of March 8.
The fire took roughly four hours to extinguish and heavily damaged the home of 10 residents who all escaped without injury. As occupants got out safely, the blaze did injure one firefighter.
On Brown Street, off of Main Street, homes are extremely close together and streets are narrow. These factors, along with parked cars and cold temperatures made fighting this fire a challenge, firefighters said.
Crews struck their first alarm a 12:28 AM after finding this fire while responding to a medical emergency. That brought Engines 1, 2, 3. Rescue 1 and Tower 1 to task, also recalling off duty personnel to staff the Marlborough Fire Department’s reserve apparatus.
Firefighters then struck subsequent alarms to bring additional manpower to rotate crews. Mutual aid from Hudson, Southborough, Northborough and Berlin responded, along with the Incident Rehab Unit from the Department of Fire Services in Stow.
The “all out” was declared at 5:28 AM.
Crews did confirm, March 8, that one responder slipped on ice while fighting this fire. He injured his ankle and received treatment at Marlborough Hospital. He was released that same morning.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Marlborough Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.