1 person hospitalized after house fire on Pine Street in Holyoke

HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - The Nor’easter storm made things a little difficult for firefighters Tuesday morning in Holyoke as flames ripped through two buildings on Pine Street.

More than two dozen firefighters were involved in a two-for-one battle as they tried to take down a fire during the storm. Holyoke Fire Capt. Dave Rex told Western Mass News why the task was challenging.

“The snow is the snow. It’s the wind that makes the conditions hard for us when we initially pull up. The snow becomes more of a problem as we start to move around the fire and try to work. It just makes everything more difficult,” Rex explained,

Flames shot out of 160 Pine Street around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday. When our crews first arrived on-scene, engulfing the two-and-half story structure. Strong winds caused the fire spread to the roof of the building next door. Jonathan Peebles lives off of Suffolk Street and saw the fire from his apartment.

“I noticed when my electricity went out…The fuses pop easily, so I thought it was one of the fuses. I come out to the kitchen and I look out my back window and I see flames,” Peebles said.

The two-alarm fire took crews several hours to put out. Luckily for them, there were nearby hydrants around the block, so there was no lack of supply. As he was watching everything play out in the early hours, Peebles told us a lot of emotions were racing through his head.

“There’s so many. (I was) unsure on what’s going to happen. Is it going to blow up? Is it going to be contained?” Peebles added.

The first structure is considered a total loss with severe damage to the roof of the second. Meanwhile, Rex gave credit to firefighters for battling the elements and the flames.

“They do this job day in and day out. This is kind of the unseen…These guys did an amazing job of what they came upon. Unfortunately, they kept (the fire) up to two structures instead of one, but it was fully involved when they got here. They got everything set up, they got a plan in place, and they made it happen,” Rex noted.

One person, who was inside 160 Pine Street, was taken to a nearby hospital due to smoke inhalation. As for the family and dog that were in 164 Pine Street, they were able to escape without injury.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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