A Fitchburg firefighter escaped a collapsing wall with only minor injuries at a March 4 fire.
Firefighters were dispatched to 114 River Street and found heavy smoke from the roof of a one-story strip mall. The 100,000-square-foot building was home to several businesses.
Firefighters found that the fire started in one business and had spread to the common attic, where it was rapidly spreading. A second alarm was struck.
Lt.Michael Gelinas was operating a 2 1/2-inch hoseline on the Delta side of the building waiting for additional units to arrive.
The roof collapsed, pushing the exterior wall out toward Gelinas, who was instantly covered with debris. Nearby firefighters quickly located Gelinas and pulled him out of the debris and Med-Star paramedics began evaluating him.
As flames engulfed the building and water supply issues became apparent, subsequent third and fourth alarms were struck.
According to fire officials, a faulty sprinkler system may have led to the destruction of the building. The system was shut down a few weeks before the fire due to water leaking into the parking lot from one of the building tenants. After a further investigating it, officials found a portion of the system had frozen in the section that was unoccupied.
Mutual aid came from many area departments both to the fire and the covering of the firehouses.
