Fire Forces Condemning of Home

The house at 865 River Blvd. was ravaged by a fire late Wednesday night, forcing it to be condemned on Thursday morning. No one was harmed in the incident.

The cause of the fire, which originated in the stairwell to the second floor of the building, is unknown. Suffield Fire Marshal Mike Thibedeau said inspectons have concluded that the fire was an accident.

"We're convinced it wasn't an arson," he said.

Inspectors from the State Fire Marshal's office aided Thibedeau in the investigation. State officials used a specially-trained arson dog to search the building and did not find any accelerants near the fire's point of origin.

The was first notified about the blaze at 11:04 p.m., which was originally identified as occuring the barn behind the house. Firefighters from the Suffield and Thompsonville Fire Departments responded and fought the blaze for two hours, extinguishing the fire at 1:11 a.m.

"We did an interior attack," Thibedeau said.

The structural integrity of the house, including parts of the first floor, was compromised by the fire. Thibedeau said the firefighters were fortunate in avoiding any injuries.

"It could have been a lot worse," he said.

David Moson, who resided in the home, was walking to the Valero gas station when the fire began and returned to see the building on fire. He then went to a neighbor's home and called emergency services.

Suffield Building Official Edward Flanders was on the scene at 7 a.m. on Thursday and condemned the building by 9 a.m.