SOUTHAMPTON — A fire that destroyed a Maple Street home Tuesday night was started accidentally by a propane grill on a rear deck of the home, the state fire marshal’s office said Wednesday evening.

Southampton firefighters met with multiple challenges in responding to the blaze at 79 Maple St., including an icy gravel road that made the home hard to access and a lack of water in a part of town that has no fire hydrants, according to Fire Chief John Workman.

When the fire call came in at 7:17 p.m., Workman said the department had to divert an engine company headed to a carbon monoxide call to the structure fire, with a second engine following behind. As the second engine pressed its brakes in front of the home, the truck slid on ice and skidded halfway across Maple, blocking traffic, Workman said.

“We have two dirt roads that are probably the worst ones in town, and this section of Maple Street is one of the worst sections as it’s just all gravel. The problem with gravel is it ices first,” he said.

Initially, Workman said that firefighters were in line to have an “effective knockdown” of the fire within the first few minutes, but then they ran out of water.

Maple Street does not have fire hydrants, so the department had to shuttle in a pumper tanker truck. The closest hydrant is more than a mile away, said Workman.

“We couldn’t get water established to any significant degree, and the fire started to build,” he said.

Crews were forced to evacuate the home after the fire started spreading rapidly because of intense heat, sometimes known as a flashover.

To help with the lack of water, Southampton Fire called for pumper tanker trucks from all over western Massachusetts. Fire crews from Easthampton, Westfield, Holyoke, Westhampton, Cummington, Pelham, Granby, Montague, Russell and Huntington all provided mutual aid assistance.

By the time firefighters were able to set up a permanent water supply shuttle, the single-story home was considered a total loss, said Workman.

The occupants of the home were able to safely exit and are believed to be staying with family nearby, he said.

According to town assessor’s records, the 2001 home is owned by William Joe York.

“It was a tragic loss for the homeowner,” Workman said. “It’s frustrating when you’re trying to fight a fire and don’t have water.”

State troopers from the fire marshal’s office and the town’s fire department investigated the fire.

Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.]]>