Three Left Homeless
In Camper Fire

Three people living in two travel campers on a small lot on West Street in East Braintree lost their temporary living quarters, and a pet, in a Monday night fire.

A faulty woodstove installation in one of the units started the blaze, according to Larry Thurston, first assistant fire chief for the Randolph Village Department.

The fire destroyed that camper, and a car parked nearby.

Firefighters from the Randolph Village, Randolph Center, and Brookfield were able to save the second camper, parked a few feet away, but it was warped by the heat and rendered unhabitable.

Chris Hayes, who lived in the 26-foot travel trailer that burned, also lost his dog to the fire. Center firefighter Chad Russell rescued a Chihuahua from the travel camper that Myrton and Jessica Therrien were living in.

All three residents were out when the fire began Monday evening.

Thurston said he and Center Fire Chief Al Floyd agreed the fire was started by a faulty stovepipe.

Firefighters arrived at about 7:15 p.m. to find Hayes’ camper and the car both burning. Thurston said firefighters, who were on scene until about 10 p.m., used water to push the flames away from the second camper.

Thurston said he contacted the Red Cross, which supplies aid to fire victims.

The two campers had been an issue of concern for Braintree officials, who since mid-November had been working with the residents on health and safety and zoning issues. According to minutes of the selectboard’s Nov. 15 meeting, only one of the campers had a water and sewer hookup.

Braintree Zoning Administrator Steve Frenette said this week he had been working with the Therriens’ attorney on a permit for a permanent mobile home on the site. It is not legal in Braintree to live in a camper, he noted.

That permitting process was almost complete, and the Therriens were about to move their new home onto the site, he indicated.

Meanwhile Braintree officials were also readying a health order for the site, directing Hayes and the Therriens "to make changes or vacate in 15 days," noted Braintree Selectboard Chair Jocelyn Stohl this week.

The health order, which was on the agenda for the board’s meeting last night, centered on "health, and fire and electrical hazards," Stohl said.

By Sandy Cooch