The victims' injuries are not considered life-threatening, Fire Chief William Flaherty said.
02.05.2013 | WEST SPRINGFIELD -- An early morning fire at 112 Garden St. sent a father and child to Baystate Medical Center for treatment of burns. Fire Chief William Flaherty said their injuries are not considered life-threatening. The blaze was caused by an unextinguished cigarette.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- An early morning house fire on Garden Street sent a man and his 10-year-old child to Bay State Medical Center for treatment of burns.
Fire Chief William Flaherty said the victims’ injuries are not life-threatening. A second adult male escaped injury, he said.
The blaze at 112 Garden St. was reported about 5:30 a.m. and there was heavy smoke coming from the first floor when firefighters arrived a short time later, Flaherty said.
All three victims were out of the burning home when firefighters arrived on scene. The father suffered burns around his mouth and on his back and the child suffered burns around his ears, Flaherty said.
The blaze was caused by an unextinguished cigarette. The adult victim told investigators he had been smoking in the living room a short time before the blaze and believed that he had stubbed out the butt in an ashtray, Flaherty said.
A family cat, still missing, may have knocked the ashtray onto an upholstered chair, Flaherty said.
Fire damage was confined to the living room and firefighters found smoke and heat damage throughout the home, Flaherty said.
“They knocked the fire down pretty quickly,” Flaherty said of his firefighters.