The homeowners at 86 Mechanic Street weren’t home Tuesday night, but fortunately, their neighbors were.
The owners had been staying in a hotel for the night while their freshly refinished floors dried when, at approximately 9 p.m., July 16, 2024, neighbors became aware of a burning smell in the area and started to investigate. They looked next door and found trash bags on fire in the next driveway, with flames starting to climb up a corner of the vinyl siding. The bags were filled mostly with sawdust, but contained some other materials involved in refinishing floors – thinner and rags.
“Anytime you’ve got sawdust and anything else that’s going to build up heat, that’s a pretty dangerous mix,” said Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock.
The day’s temperatures reached the upper 80's in the area before cooling back down significantly.