Bridge Street fire draws response, displaces resident

Firefighters at a doused structure fire in an apartment building on Bridge Street, earlier today.

FARMINGTON - A lunchtime blaze drew firefighters and other first responders to Bridge Street today, after a kitchen fire reportedly resulted in damage but no injuries.

At approximately 11:20 a.m., Farmington Fire Rescue responded to 129 Bridge Street, a white, vinyl-sided building consisting of four apartments, after dispatchers received a call about a kitchen fire. Flames inside Apartment No. 1's kitchen were doused within a few minutes and an initial mutual aid call was canceled.

Resident Courtney Hodge, who lives in Apartment No. 1, said she had turned the stove on to cook a cheeseburger when sparks started coming out. As the fire began to spread, Hodge said, she grabbed her 16-year-old daughter and got out.

"It's just scary," Hodge said, wiping away tears. Her other daughter, age 4, was in school.

Firefighters accessed the fire from an entrance adjacent to the street, running hose down to a nearby fire hydrant. After the fire was doused, crews began overhauling the apartment, searching for hot spots and using fans to remove smoke from the building.

The fire was contained in the kitchen, according to Deputy Chief Clyde Ross, although there was some structure damage along with the effects of smoke and water. That apartment would be uninhabitable Thursday night, Ross noted, and Red Cross had been contacted. The other apartments in the building could be reoccupied immediately.

That was good news for Hodge's neighbor, Daphne Lightbody, who heard Hodge screaming and got out with her two dogs.

"I heard screaming 'help,' 'fire,'" she said, "so I grabbed my dogs and ran out."

NorthStar EMS also responded, which is typical for structure fires, as well as Farmington Police and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, to provide traffic control. Bridge Street was blocked off for roughly an hour.

The building is owned by Shawn Grant.

Deputy Chief Clyde Ross (left) talks with Deputy Chief Tim Hardy outside of the building.