On April 2 at 6:22 am, the Mattapoisett Fire Department responded to a fire at the bike-path bridge originally built over the Eel Pond River near the entrance at Mattapoisett Neck Road, which is currently closed to the public.
According to Fire Chief Andrew Murray, the fire was reported by a neighbor living on Mattapoisett Neck Road, and the department arrived in time to confront an active fire on the bridge that only took a few minutes to extinguish. Firefighters had to cut through three chain-link fences to reach the bridge and stayed on the scene 40 minutes to make sure the fire did not reignite.
The fire was intentionally started according to the Mattapoisett Police, which took a person of interest into custody, Town Administrator Mike Lorenco stated. The incident remains under investigation by both the Mattapoisett Police and Fire departments.
“It obviously is unfortunate and certainly not what you want to see with a project that has had several setbacks. However, we must move forward and find solutions,” stated Lorenco. “The town will be doing what is necessary to repair the damage in a timely fashion. The public can also help. Please refrain from using the closed section of the bike path. I cannot express that more, especially now, where repairs are needed to ensure it is safe. I would like to thank the town’s public-safety personnel for their efforts. The situation could’ve been much worse without their quick and professional response.”
The new bridge under construction and part of Phase 1b of the bike path was not involved in the fire incident.
By Marilou Newell
