A gas grill is the suspected cause of a fire that injured two people and damaged a house and garage.
Firefighters found the rear wall of the house at 165 Hingham St. and a nearby detached garage engulfed in flames after receiving a 911 call at 7:23 p.m. Wednesday, Rockland Fire Lt. Donald Hussey said.
Fire departments from Abington, Hanover, Weymouth and Whitman were called in to help, and the blaze was brought under control by about 8 p.m., Hussey said. The house is uninhabitable now.
Hussey said the man who owns the home and an Abington firefighter, whose names were not released, were taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth with non life-threatening injuries. Clinton A. Beck, 60, is the homeowner, according to the Rockland residents list.
Two other people who were in the house when the fire started were not injured. The kitchen and a second-floor bedroom as well as the garage were heavily damaged, Hussey said.
The investigation into the fire’s cause was focusing on a gas grill that had been in use earlier that was on a rear porch, Hussey said.
Rockland: Hingham St. fire rekindles again- and again
It was the fire that just wouldn't die in Rockland this week.
A two-alarm house fire Wednesday evening at a home at 165 Hingham Street sent the homeowner and an Abington firefighter to the hospital.
Rockland Deputy Fire Chief Bill Ferguson says early Thursday morning a small, unattached garage on the property began to burn and was quickly put out. But not for long-- the garage began to smolder again Thursday afternoon.
"The problem we're having with it is there's a heavy load of storage in the small little attic that we can't get to," said Ferguson. "And the building is too unstable for us to climb up and in to get it."
Finally a backhoe was brought in to tear down the garage so fire crews could put out the last of the fire.
Ferguson says they believe the fire was accidental, but it is still under investigation.
"We're trying to speak with the gentleman who is the homeowner. Unfortunately, he is still hospitalized and we're unable to talk with him and complete the investigation," said Ferguson.
Whitman, Abington, Hanover and Weymouth all provided mutual aid at the scene on Wednesday.
