SCITUATE, MASSACHUSETTS – Crews have been tirelessly monitoring for hot spots following a devastating fire that tore through several oceanfront homes in Scituate on Friday night.
The blaze broke out before 8 p.m. on Glades Road in Minot Beach, and quickly spread to eight homes, with five suffering extensive damage, according to Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy. Despite the scale of the inferno, no injuries were reported.
Murphy, who has been a firefighter for 33 years, said that this was one of the largest fires he had witnessed with this many homes being destroyed. He attributed the fire’s rapid spread to the congested nature of the beach homes and the weather conditions on the night.
Multiple crews from at least eight other communities responded to the fire, with firefighters from Cohasset, Hull, Hingham, Norwell, Hanover, Marshfield, Duxbury and Rockland joining in the efforts. The mutual aid response is a testament to the strong working relationships between different departments, according to Murphy.
While the majority of the heavy fire was extinguished by 11 p.m., crews continued to work through the night to tackle any remaining hot spots.
The fire was so intense that one neighbor, Patti Wolff, described it as a “massive fireball” that seemed to explode out of nowhere. She added that “the cinders were flying. It was like a tornado circling around in the air every which way. Firemen were everywhere. They were having trouble getting water right away.”
As crews worked to control the blaze, police and fire officials urged members of the public to stay away from the area for their own safety.
Delia Weikert, a neighbor of the affected homes, lamented the loss of history and memories associated with the properties. “Until recently, they’ve all been family homes that have been in the families for generations. Just recently, some of them have been purchased and renovated. There’s a lot of history here, and sadly, it’s very changed now.”
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but Murphy suggested that floating embers may have sparked a fire in a nearby dumpster. The community is left to pick up the pieces after this devastating incident.
