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GORDON DANIELS

The living room at 260 Florence Road, Northampton, where an early morning fire started behind the wall above the mantel of the fireplace where a stove insert had been installed.

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GORDON DANIELS

The living room at 260 Florence Road, Northampton, where an early morning fire started behind the wall above the mantel of the fireplace where a fireplace insert had been installed.

NORTHAMPTON - An early morning fire in a Florence home was most likely caused by a fireplace stove insert, firefighters said today, hours after extinguishing the blaze. The fire caused extensive damage to the single-story home's living room and attic.

Crews responded to the fire at 260 Florence Road after receiving a 911 call at 5:22 a.m., according to Deputy Fire Chief Timothy McQueston.

Firefighters from the Florence station were the first to arrive on the scene, where they initially attacked flames in the living room and then the attic, where the fire had spread. It took about 10 minutes to knock down all the flames and another half hour to root out remaining hot spots, said McQueston. Crews from the Carlon Drive station also fought the blaze.

Both occupants of the house, Anne and Frank Masloski, were home at the time, and were not injured in the blaze, he said. The couple was alerted to the fire by the sounding of smoke detectors, said Assistant Fire Chief Duane Nichols.

Nichols said firefighters suspect the stove insert caused the blaze. A piece of chimney lining had fallen out, exposing the flue to the wood, Nichols explained. Over time, the wood dried out and eventually ignited the day before Christmas.

"The smoke detectors certainly did their job in this case," Nichols said. "It was a straightforward fire, it's just too bad it had to happen on Christmas eve."

Nichols said the fire did not damage the couple's Christmas tree. Holiday presents, however, may have suffered some smoke and water damage.

The building inspector has posted the house as uninhabitable, Nichols said, but the Masloskis are working to get back into their home. This morning, firefighters and people from the city's building department were helping the Masloskis clean up their home and contact contractors to restore the house, Nichols said.

"Hopefully, they can get in the house in the next day or so," he said.

In addition to Northampton, crews from Easthampton and Williamsburg responded to the fire, as did Northampton police, who blocked off Florence Road from Ryan Road to Burts Pit Road.

Shortly before 7 a.m., firefighters could be seen inside the home through an open front door, from which a blue hose snaked across the snow-covered lawn. A pile of debris lay outside the front door.

Crews from Bay State Gas company, National Grid and a representative from the city building inspector's office were also on the scene, said McQueston. Red Cross volunteers also responded.

Next-door neighbor Pauline Marney of 250 Florence Road said the flashing lights of fire trucks and emergency vehicles alerted her of the blaze. She said she saw smoke coming from the home, but no flames.

Marney said her two neighbors initially came to her home, but left shortly after to be checked for smoke inhalation by an ambulance crew. No one needed treatment, Nichols said.