Norman Miller
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, Mass.
NATICK, Mass. — A firefighter reportedly suffered fractured ribs after a piece of equipment struck him in the chest while he was fighting a two-alarm fire at the former St. Patrick’s School property.
The fire in the old rectory on Wilson Street appeared to be intentionally set, but caused little damage, Fire Chief Michael Lentini said Friday.
“We suspect there were some kids in the area who may have went in there and lit a fire,” he said. “The whole interior is trashed already and there wasn’t much damage.”
Firefighters responded to 5 Wilson St. at about 4:15 p.m. after the alarms went off. A firefighter bringing a hose into the building was injured when a coupling connecting the hose to a fire engine broke off and struck him in the chest.
The firefighter was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released. Lentini said it appeared the firefighter had fractured ribs.
Inside, firefighters found smoke and what appeared to be trash on fire in the rectory’s former kitchen. There was trash strewn about outside the building. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. The chief said the fire went to two alarms only because of extra firefighters were needed because of the heat, which was in the mid- to high 80s.
The property is owned by Natick-based Stonegate Group, which plans to tear down the existing buildings and replace them with commercial space and apartments, Lentini said.
“The whole area is fenced off,” he said. “It’s been vacant for a long time.”
The fire remains under investigation by the Natick Police Department, the chief said.
———
©2020 MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, Mass.