Finne Road home ‘complete loss’; blaze ruled accidental

A Finne Road home consumed by fire Sunday afternoon is a “complete loss,” according to Johnston Fire Chief Peter Lamb.

Lamb said several reports of the blaze came in shortly after noon on Sunday, and the first units to arrive on the scene found the home “fully involved.” Lamb said that phrase describes a fire that has spread from one end of the home to the other.

“It was obviously a tragedy, a horrible loss for [the residents],” he added.

There were two people inside the home, but they were able to escape without Fire Department intervention. Lamb said neither the occupants nor any firefighters suffered any major injuries.

“So the fire was very well advanced,” Lamb said. “We had several problems with water supply, trying to get water to the scene. We laid a hose from a hydrant about 3,800 feet and we had several pumpers in line to attempt to boost the pressure. That did not work out quite the way we wanted it to, so we then called in tanker trucks.”

Tanker trucks carrying water came from North Scituate and Chepachet, and the fire was under control in less than 45 minutes. Lamb added that crews were on the scene for several hours.

The chief said the Red Cross was called in to assist the homeowners. There has also been a GoFund Me page set up to help the family. The fundraiser has a goal of $20,000, of which more than $7,800 has been collected from more than 115 people.

Comments have poured in supporting the family, offering prayers and words of encouragement. Donations can be made at gofundme.com/finne-rd-house-fire.

“It does happen, and in areas that do not have hydrants close by, that’s pretty common,” Lamb said of “complete losses” like the Finne Road fire. “We’ve actually had a couple of other fires in Johnston that have had some water supply issues as well.”

Lamb said the fire was ruled accidental. He said the man inside the garage was working on his motorcycle, draining gasoline with a propane heater nearby.

“Gasoline fumes, propane heater, there may have been an initial delay,” Lamb said. “I believe the owner tried to fight the fire a little bit himself … Gasoline itself is a problem, gasoline vapors are worse and vapors travel and spread and what have you. That’s the issue. It is the season, if it ever stops raining we will have people doing lawns and all of that stuff. It’s time to be careful with that.”

Lamb said that the department will continue to investigate what happened, but he doesn’t see the introduction of hydrants nearby as an option.

“I don’t see anyone installing hydrants. It’s a very, very costly proposition,” Lamb said. “We need to figure out what an alternate plan of attack would be for that neighborhood and see what we can do to make that operation better or see what needs to be done.”

Lamb said that accidents happen, and that anyone is one misstep away from making a mistake.

“It’s fire safety. The best fire I go to is the one I don’t go to. It’s fire prevention,” he said. “We’re just cautioning anyone that reads … We handle gasoline pretty readily in normal life. It is extremely, extremely dangerous.”