At approximately 17 minutes past midnight on Thursday July 1, 2021, Westerly Dispatch received a 911 call reporting a possible structure fire at 5 North Joseph St. The Westerly Fire Department was dispatched. The first arriving fire unit confirmed a working structure fire. Flames were showing from the Bravo side of a 1-story ranch style house with fire from a basement window extending up the outside of the house. It was quickly determined that the house was unoccupied and had been for a time. Firefighters stretched 2 lines to the basement to knock down the fire. A third line was stretched to the first floor to cut off any extension. A crew from Ladder 1 ventilated the roof. Due to the house being unoccupied, Westerly Police Detectives and the Rhode Island State Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the fire. Westerly Ambulance Corps personnel as well as the Providence Canteen were on scene to provide rehab for firefighters. No injuries to firefighters were reported. |