A utility worker disconnects lines from an Acorn Street house following Monday’s fire.
By Gail Burnett
The state Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating exactly what happened when fire exploded in a moving truck on Monday, heavily damaging the house at 13 Acorn St. whose owners had been preparing to move in.
No one was in the house at the time and no one was seriously hurt, though one firefighter needed medical attention for a cut, according to Assistant Fire Chief Brian Watkins.
Fire broke out at about 12:30 pm in the truck, owned by DN Van Lines of Northborough, MA. Neighbors quickly came running.
“We thought our house was on fire,” said Keith Rideout, who lives across the street. He said he and his kids heard three explosions as they ran outside. The third explosion, which he suspected was a battery in the truck, was the loudest.
“That’s the one that almost knocked me off my feet,” he said.
His daughter Kristina Rideout said as they ran outside, they saw the fire spread from the truck. “You could just see it starting to take on the house,” she said.
Neighbors tried to help. Keith Rideout stretched his garden hose across the street, but the heat soon got too intense. It was so hot, Watkins explained, that vinyl siding on some houses across the street sustained damage.
The Fire Department arrived quickly and was able to stop the fire from spreading more. “We had the bulk of the fire knocked down in three minutes,” Watkins said.
“They were here quick as heck,” Kristina Rideout said. “They did a really good job.”
According to a deed filed in the York County Registry of Deeds on Monday, the new owner of the house is Jacob B. Baca of North Carolina. The Red Cross is reportedly helping the family.
“The guy was just starting a new life,” Keith Rideout said. “It’s just damn sad.”
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