Above: A firefighter prepares to enter the house on Cindyann Sunday (9/18). Photos by Tim Cure

Firefighters tried to revive the animal without success

East Greenwich and North Kingstown firefighters Sunday were able to extinguish a fire at a house on Cindyann Drive that resulted in considerable smoke and water damage but the structure was saved. No human residents were in the house at the time of the fire but a dog was inside and was not able to be revived. 

The alarm came in at 4:54 Sunday (9/18) afternoon. The department gets a lot of these sorts of alarms, said Capt. Bill Perry, and when firefighters first drove up, it looked like this alarm would be like most of the others – a pan that got too hot or the like – because the house looked normal from a distance. But as they walked up toward the house, they saw two windows had been blown out, a sign of extreme heat inside the structure, prompting an immediate call to North Kingstown Fire for backup.

Because there was a car in the driveway, firefighters had to see if anyone was inside the home. They forced their way into the house and started searching just as a neighbor arrived to say the residents were not at home but there was a dog inside. 

They found the dog quickly but it was motionless. Outside, they were able to give the dog oxygen (EGFD has dog oxygen masks) and conducted CPR for several minutes but it was unsuccessful, Perry said.

The residents had arrived by then. 

“That’s tough, to lose a dog,” Perry said.

 North Kingstown arrived with four engines, a ladder truck, a rescue and a total of 14 firefighters, adding to EG’s 8. 

“We knocked down the fire fairly quickly to keep it in check,” Perry said. The fire appeared to have started in the living room. The heat was so great that it melted things like the microwave in the kitchen, which the fire did not touch directly. 

Perry said in houses that are closed up and well insulated, a fire’s heat can build up and have a “flashover” effect in which a contained fire gets bigger fast. “When those windows blew out, that added oxygen, feeding the fire.” 

He added, “That was one of the hottest fires we’ve had in some time.”

Perry credited the alarm system, saying it might not have been caught for a while otherwise.

“It’s very rare that an alarm turns out to be an actual fire,” he said. 

The house received extensive smoke damage but the fire was held in check in the living room, Perry said. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation; Fire Marshal Steve Hughes did not respond to a request for more information.

Fire trucks lining Cindyann Drive Sunday afternoon. Credit: Tim Cure

Firefighters on Cindyann Drive. Credit: Tim Cure

EGPD officer assisting at the scene. Credit: Tim Cure