Off Duty Easton Firefighter Helps Put Out Norton Fire

At approximately 1:30 p.m., Norton Fire Department received a report of a kitchen fire at 111 Lincoln St. in Norton.

The family living at the home were vacationing in New Hampshire when the fire started. Two cats were in the house at the time but were not harmed. Two firefighters were brought to the hospital by Captain William David Myles for heat exhaustion and an ankle injury. 

The initially call came in as a burglar alarm, but when the neighbor checked on the home she noticed smoke.

"I saw smoke billowing out of the front door and I just advised dispatch to send the fire department, who were already on route anyway," said initial responder patrolman Christopher McCarthy of Norton Police Department. "So it worked out."

Off duty Easton firefighter Lawrence Blye was able to cool down the fire with a garden hose before Norton Fire Department arrived. Blye, who was coming home from Easton at the time, lives on Plain Street in Norton.

"He was here a long time before [us]," said firefighter Mike Wilson. "This is definitely one of the farthest runs for us out here. It takes a while. This could have definitely been bad."

Once Norton Fire Department arrived with two engines and a ladder truck, they used almost their entire water tank to extinguish the rest of the blaze. 

"We were hindered a little bit because there's no water down here, they have wells," Wilson said. "We were able to knock it down with the tank of water we had." 

We used the water tank for about 15 minutes," Wilson said. "We used almost the whole tank."

The cause of the fire has not yet been released.

"Initially it came in as a lightning strike, but I don't believe that was the cause," Wilson said.