WENDELL — Excessive heat and a lack of water hampered firefighters as they tried to save the home of Robert Bowers at 131 Wickett Pond Road on Thursday morning, according to Fire Chief Matt O’Donnell.
O’Donnell said a “heavy fire” in an attached barn at the rear of the one-and-a-half story house was spreading to the home upon arrival. The first call came in at 8:14 a.m., and by 8:30 a.m., the fire had been upgraded to a second alarm, calling in mutual aid from surrounding fire departments.
It was difficult to obtain a constant source of water, with firefighters first attempting to lay a direct line down to nearby Wickett Pond in Wendell State Forest. Determining the distance to be too great and uphill, the firefighters set up three portable holding tanks and used tanker trucks to transport water up from the pond.
In the time it took to establish the water source, the fire spread throughout the second floor, eventually escaping from the eaves at the front of the home, as well as through the roof. O’Donnell struck a third alarm at around 10:15 a.m. due to the high temperatures, necessitating increased staffing to keep first responders from overheating.
Bowers, 84, watched the firefighters at work, accompanied by his sons, Ezra Bowers and Jon Bowers, and other friends.
Robert Bowers, who lives alone in the house that was built in the 1700s, recounted that the belts on a lawn tractor he was using seized up, so he parked it in his attached barn to cool off. Shortly after, he noticed smoke coming from the barn.
Having been a member of the Wendell Fire Department for 40 years, attaining the rank of deputy chief, Bowers was able to direct firefighters to retrieve some valuables from the home while the fire spread. He has lived in the house since 1973, and had just installed new windows and finished a bathroom renovation. He said he has no home insurance.
Firefighters from area towns try to save the house after an attached barn burned at 131 Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Firefighters rest in the shade while fighting a stubborn house fire on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Homeowner Robert Bowers moves one of his lawn tractors away from the fire with the help of a firefighter and his son Ezra Bowers at a house fire on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Smoke billows from the eaves of 131 Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Firefighters wait for more water to arrive on scene as fire breaks through the roof at a house on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Firefighters wait for more water to arrive on scene as fire breaks through the roof at a house on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Firefighters attack a house fire from inside and out on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
Firefighters on Northfield’s ladder truck ventilate the attic at a house fire on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning. 
The heat was an issue for firefighters at a house fire on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning, with Wendell Fire Chief Matt O’Donnell calling in a third alarm for more personnel. 
Tanker trucks ferried water from Wickett Pond into holding tanks to fight a house fire on Wickett Pond Road in Wendell on Thursday morning.
O’Donnell expressed appreciation for the mutual aid from nearby fire departments, which provided tankers, pumpers and a ladder truck. On scene were firefighters from Wendell, New Salem, Orange, Erving, Turners Falls, Montague Center, Warwick, Gill, Northfield, Bernardston, Greenfield, Petersham, Pelham and Amherst. Also responding were Athol Ambulance, the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services’ Special Operations unit and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
