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Springfield firefighters respond to house fire in tornado-ravaged neighborhood

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Firefighters responded to a blaze at 56 Chesterfield Avenue, which is in a section of Springfield hit hard by Wednesday's tornado.

NEW FIRE TRUCK.JPGSpringfield firefighters were at the scene of an East Forest Park house fire early Saturday morning. There were no reported injuries because the homeowners were reportedly staying at a hotel at the time of the fire. The house is located in a neighborhood that was hit hard by Wednesday's hurricane.

SPRINGFIELD -- File this under the "insult to injury" category: The home of a family who evacuated from tornado-ravaged East Forest Park caught fire around 7 a.m. Saturday.

No residents were injured because they weren't home, according to personnel who responded to the 7:03 a.m. report at 56 Chesterfield Avenue. Luckily, the family was already staying at a hotel at the time of the fire, said Dennis G. Leger, a spokesman for the Springfield Fire Department.

Neighbors managed to remove a dog from the house, according to reports from the scene, but there was no immediate word on the dog's condition.

Smoke was seen coming from the roof of the home, which became a "confirmed working fire" at 7:10 a.m., firefighters reported.

"We're venting the roof," one firefighter was heard saying over his radio.

Crews from Western Massachusetts Electric Co. requested police to shut down nearby Pennsylvania Avenue at 8 a.m. Saturday. Pennsylvania is located one block west of Chesterfield, and the area lies in the path of where a tornado caused widespread destruction on Wednesday.

Other neighborhood roads may also be closed to accommodate fire personnel shuttling to and from the scene. Trees and poles are down in many sections of East Forest Park, and some neighborhood residents are still without power.

One firefighter reported that the occupants of the Chesterfield Avenue home had "vacated because of the storm."

More information will be posted as it becomes available.


THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate location of a fire reported Saturday morning at 56 Chesterfield Avenue in East Forest Park:


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