Firefighters' quick response preventing fire in Mendon garage from spreading, chief says

MENDON — A garage and a car inside it were destroyed in a fire early on Tuesday, although a quick attack by firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to the rest of the home, according to Fire Chief Jason Bangma.

The cause of the 1:20 a.m. fire, at 11 Wood Drive, is unknown, Bangma said, adding that no one was injured.

"When the first crew arrived, there was a heavily involved garage fire," he said. "The initial crew did a very aggressive attack and knocked down the bulk of it."

Early-arriving firefighters called for a first and then second alarm to bring tanker trucks to the scene, as there are no fire hydrants in the area.

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How Mendon firefighters extinguished the fire

Two firefighters used 1,000 gallons of water with what's called a "blitz gun" that sprayed 500 gallons a minute to fight the fire until backup arrived.

"The actions of the members of the Mendon Fire Department this morning are a testament to all the long hours of intensive training our members have put in over the past 5+ years developing themselves to be the best firefighters they can be," Bangma said in a press release. "'Fast Water' delivery has been a focus of our training for the last five years, and today they were able to put that training to use to quickly extinguish the fire, drastically reducing the amount of damage to the home."

Several fire departments responded to the scene to assist — Bellingham, Douglas, Franklin, Hopedale, Medway, Milford, Millville, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton and Uxbridge.

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Most of the damage was contained to the garage, Bangma said. A car inside the garage was destroyed. Bangma did not know what kind of car it was and did not have a dollar estimate for the damage.

The fire is being investigated by the state Fire Mashal's Office and Fire District 7 Fire Investigation Unit.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or [email protected]. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime