LUDLOW, MA - A fast-moving fire destroyed a two-story apartment house early in the evening of Saturday, February 22nd, in the Town of Ludlow, displacing half a dozen families and requiring the help of half a dozen departments to knock the fire down.

Ludlow firefighters were summoned to 398 East St. just after 9:00 P.M. for a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, Ludlow crews were met with a two-and-a-half story, mixed-use occupancy building with heavy fire on the Charlie side. The balloon frame apartment house that contained six units was attached to a single-story ordinary construction office building on the A/D corner that housed a local real estate agency.

The fire had taken possession of the wood frame porches on the Charlie side and was gaining a foot hold in the attic as Ludlow firefighters began their interior attack. Crews attempted to cut off the fire's extension using compressed air foam, but the fire had already gained purchase in the attic and was running laterally from the Charlie to the Alpha side.

As conditions worsened, extra alarms were struck to bring manpower and equipment from Westover Air Reserve Base, Springfield, Chicopee, Wilbraham and Palmer to the scene, and Belchertown for station coverage. East St. command was forced to withdraw members from the building once the attic became fully involved and switch to a defensive attack. Ludlow's tower and Springfield's Engine 5, a 75-foot quint set up on the A/B and A/D corners respectively and played away with their master streams as fire broke through the roof.

Crews spent the next two hours in a defensive attack before the main body of fire was knocked down and members could re-enter the structure to chase hot spots and overhaul the second-floor. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the LFD/LPD and the State Fire Marshal's office. Most of the residents were not home at the time of the fire, but are being assisted by the Red Cross.