CHESHIRE, Mass. — A couple of quick-thinking teenagers likely saved one of the town's historic homes from burning down. 

 

Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said the two youth were walking from the Shell station on Route 8 on Monday evening when they noticed flickering lights and then flames in a downstairs room at 120 North St. 

 

"They called 911 on their cell phones," he said. "So I'm very thankful that they caught it as early as they did, because otherwise the outcome would have been much different."

 

The chief said the call came in at 7:43 p.m. for a reported structure fire; the first firefighters on the scene found a first-floor room on the north side of the building, to the left of the front door, and its contents on fire. 

 

Buildings of this age are usually balloon frame construction, meaning there are few if any stops in the walls. Once flames are in the walls, they can shoot up into the attic, Francesconi said. 

 

Plus, the interior has been under construction for several years so some rooms are not sealed up. 

 

"We weren't sure where this one was going and I kind of wanted to get ahead of it if need be. It's an obviously a very large building," he said, adding, "it's not as sealed up as a finished home is so fire can travel pretty quickly. 

 

"We're fortunate nobody was injured. No pets were injured. Everybody was safe. No firefighters were injured. It was a success."

 

Cheshire firefighters went to the third floor to ensure the fire was contained and Adams Fire Department was called in for extra manpower and brought its air truck. Lanesborough was also called and covered the station, and, per protocol, Adams Ambulance sent a truck to stand by.

 

That section of Route 8 was closed and traffic detoured over Church, School and Richardson streets. 

 

The fire was contained fairly quickly and the state fire marshal's office called to investigate. 

 

Francesconi said the cause was undetermined on Monday night but the fire marshal was looking at some wiring. 

 

"That room where it started sustained pretty extensive damage. There is some heat damage in the hallway where the fire kind of got out of that room and started running in the hallway," he said. "But we were fortunate to get it fast enough that we knocked it down and pretty much kept it confined to that room."

 

The 12-room building dates to at least 1853 and was purchased several years ago by owners who live out of town. They have been working to update the building room by room but were not at the house on Monday. 

 

Firefighters were beginning to wrap up around 9:30 p.m. but several trucks and the investigator were still at the scene at 11 p.m. 

 

"I'm very proud of the troops and they did a great job and now we're just mopping up," Francesconi said.