Cigarette Causes Fire in Mattapoisett
By Jean Perry
The Mattapoisett Fire and Police Departments responded to a call at 3:14pm on Friday, January 15, of a reported fire at the Mattapoisett Housing Authority public housing at 1 Acushnet Road.
When firefighters arrived they found smoke filling the building and evacuated all residents of the 54-unit Village Court senior housing complex, said Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray at the scene.
A fire broke out in a trashcan in unit #45 after the tenant improperly disposed of a cigarette in the trash. Murray said nobody was injured, but the Mattapoisett Police E.M.S. evaluated one individual who later refused further treatment.
Murray said damage inside the unit was limited to the trashcan and surrounding area and did not spread to any other units.
Due to the cold, firefighters allowed the elderly tenants to re-enter the lobby of the public housing complex as the fire was being extinguished, since smoke had not spread into that part of the building.
The Town of Marion was called for assistance and the Fairhaven Fire Department provided station coverage for the Town of Mattapoisett during the incident.
I was always under the impression that no smoking was allowed in Village Court.
Did that rule change?
Unfortunately smoking is still allowed at Village Court. The housing authority has been working on banning smoking in apartments, but it is a slow process. This incident proves beyond a doubt that indoor smoking should be banned. Despite the fact that the incident was contained within this individual’s apartment, it could have been much worse. We need to get our State representative involved in the smoking ban! It will probably drag on for a while given the state’s slow assistance. Next time it could be worse and potentially deadly!