Oxford Fire Dept. saves home struck by both flood and fire
OXFORD – An Oxford firefighter suffered smoke inhalation injuries Monday after the flooded basement he and another crew member were pumping out suddenly burst into flames from an unknown amount of spilled gasoline.
Oxford Fire Chief Ron Martin Jr. said long-time Oxford firefighter Shane Ingraham was treated with oxygen at the scene and taken to Chenango Memorial Hospital as a precaution before being released later in the day.
The fire began at around 12:45 p.m. Monday afternoon while Ingraham and another Oxford firefighter, Alan Ross, were pumping water from the basement of a residence at 13 Butler St. in the Village of Oxford. The Fire Dept. was called by the homeowner after a significant amount of runoff began striking the side of the two-story home during yesterday’s rain showers, filling the basement and seeping into the home from beneath the front door.
“At about 10:45 or 11 this morning, the weather started kicking up and brought a stream of water down off the hill right into the side of the house, bursting into the porch,” said Nate Twitchell, one of the home’s occupants, Monday.
Twitchell said his girlfriend, who owns the home, called the fire department for help. The two firefighters then arrived a short time later with equipment and started pumping out the accumulated water from an outside entrance to the basement.
“Originally what happened is we had two guys up there to do a pumping detail – getting out the water. The pump was working sporadically as the water level got lower, so they went back down inside to adjust it. They were just inside the entranceway when the basement flashed,” said Martin.
Assistant Oxford Fire Chief Tim McGowan said the basement was basically being used for the storage of a lot of different objects such as old cloths, lawn chairs and other items – including a few containers filled with gasoline.
“As the water filled the basement, these cans mixed with the water and floating debris, filling the air with fumes that were eventually set alight by a pilot light or some kind of spark,” he explained.
Firefighter Ross, who is 18 years old and has been in the department for less than a year, said he smelled an odor just before he heard the sound of the erupting flames.
“I heard a ‘woomph!,’ like a furnace kicking on, but louder. There were flames kicking up everywhere and I pushed Shane right out the door and we ran upstairs to get everybody out of the house. We had no idea what was down there,” he said.
Ingraham and Ross evacuated the couple and their pets before returning to the basement’s exterior entrance to try and put the fire out.
“I looked in through the basement window right here,” said Twitchell, pointing at the broken and blackened glass. “There was just a great ball of fire, like an explosion going on inside. The water was on fire and smoke was pouring out all over the place,” he added.
The two firefighters grabbed some nearby buckets and began tossing water on the fire in an attempt to keep more of the debris from igniting. During this five-minutes window of time, the two worked to keep the fire from spreading and Ingraham suffered smoke inhalation injuries.
“When crews arrived, there was smoking pouring from the basement and the walls of the home,” said Martin.
Martin said Ingraham, who has been a volunteer fireman from more than 15 years, was treated at the scene.
The Oxford Fire Dept. received mutual aid at the fire from the Norwich and McDonough departments and was able to put out the remaining flames less than 15 minutes after arriving, saving the home, said Martin.
“We’re quite lucky and we didn’t waste any time in calling for mutual aid,” he said.
Martin advised people to store gas containers away from main structures, placing them in a non-connected shed or other outside area.
The home suffered minor smoke damage and the female homeowner was also taken to CMH for a precautionary check-up.
“Thank God nobody got killed, thank God they saved the house and thank God those two guys were here when it all happened, If they hadn’t been we would have probably lost the house,” said Twitchell. “They saved our home.”
Oxford Fire Chief Ron Martin Jr. said long-time Oxford firefighter Shane Ingraham was treated with oxygen at the scene and taken to Chenango Memorial Hospital as a precaution before being released later in the day.
The fire began at around 12:45 p.m. Monday afternoon while Ingraham and another Oxford firefighter, Alan Ross, were pumping water from the basement of a residence at 13 Butler St. in the Village of Oxford. The Fire Dept. was called by the homeowner after a significant amount of runoff began striking the side of the two-story home during yesterday’s rain showers, filling the basement and seeping into the home from beneath the front door.
“At about 10:45 or 11 this morning, the weather started kicking up and brought a stream of water down off the hill right into the side of the house, bursting into the porch,” said Nate Twitchell, one of the home’s occupants, Monday.
Twitchell said his girlfriend, who owns the home, called the fire department for help. The two firefighters then arrived a short time later with equipment and started pumping out the accumulated water from an outside entrance to the basement.
“Originally what happened is we had two guys up there to do a pumping detail – getting out the water. The pump was working sporadically as the water level got lower, so they went back down inside to adjust it. They were just inside the entranceway when the basement flashed,” said Martin.
Assistant Oxford Fire Chief Tim McGowan said the basement was basically being used for the storage of a lot of different objects such as old cloths, lawn chairs and other items – including a few containers filled with gasoline.
“As the water filled the basement, these cans mixed with the water and floating debris, filling the air with fumes that were eventually set alight by a pilot light or some kind of spark,” he explained.
Firefighter Ross, who is 18 years old and has been in the department for less than a year, said he smelled an odor just before he heard the sound of the erupting flames.
“I heard a ‘woomph!,’ like a furnace kicking on, but louder. There were flames kicking up everywhere and I pushed Shane right out the door and we ran upstairs to get everybody out of the house. We had no idea what was down there,” he said.
Ingraham and Ross evacuated the couple and their pets before returning to the basement’s exterior entrance to try and put the fire out.
“I looked in through the basement window right here,” said Twitchell, pointing at the broken and blackened glass. “There was just a great ball of fire, like an explosion going on inside. The water was on fire and smoke was pouring out all over the place,” he added.
The two firefighters grabbed some nearby buckets and began tossing water on the fire in an attempt to keep more of the debris from igniting. During this five-minutes window of time, the two worked to keep the fire from spreading and Ingraham suffered smoke inhalation injuries.
“When crews arrived, there was smoking pouring from the basement and the walls of the home,” said Martin.
Martin said Ingraham, who has been a volunteer fireman from more than 15 years, was treated at the scene.
The Oxford Fire Dept. received mutual aid at the fire from the Norwich and McDonough departments and was able to put out the remaining flames less than 15 minutes after arriving, saving the home, said Martin.
“We’re quite lucky and we didn’t waste any time in calling for mutual aid,” he said.
Martin advised people to store gas containers away from main structures, placing them in a non-connected shed or other outside area.
The home suffered minor smoke damage and the female homeowner was also taken to CMH for a precautionary check-up.
“Thank God nobody got killed, thank God they saved the house and thank God those two guys were here when it all happened, If they hadn’t been we would have probably lost the house,” said Twitchell. “They saved our home.”
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