Fall River fire deemed 'not suspicious'

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) -- Eighteen people are out of their homes after a fire ripped through three floors, leaving the house burnt and blackened inside.

The American Red Cross is helping the three families, while fire officials are investigating the cause.

The fire happened on Rodman St. in Fall River on Sunday afternoon. One woman had to be rescued from the third floor and was rushed to the hospital. She suffered from smoke inhalation.

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Everyone else was able to make it out of the triple-decker home safely.

According to District Fire Chief Ambrose Smith, there was a slight delay getting a water supply because two hydrants closest to the burning home weren’t working.

Smith admits the faulty fire hydrants made the fire a challenging one to battle.

"It delayed getting a water supply, but it didn't delay our attack. We carry 500 gallons on the apparatus so we were able to make initial attack. It's just, it took us a little while to get a supply started," said Smith.

Fall River firefighters inspect fire hydrants annually from May to October. If there are deficiencies, they're reported to the water department.

But, according to firefighters, there are so many hydrants in the city there's no way to check every single one, every year.

Investigators tell us the cause of the fire is not suspicious, but that they're still working to pinpoint its origin.