Details Emerge on Deadly MA House Explosion

Berlin police and the Berlin Fire Department painted a clearer picture of what happened after a house exploded and suffered fire damage so catastrophic that it was leveled, leaving one woman dead and another injured on April 14.

In a joint statement on Thursday, police and fire officials detailed the lengths that neighbors went to save the life of one of the occupants of the building, at one point moving through “raining fire,” and at other points dealing with heavy flames and a sparking electrical wire.

The Berlin Fire Department was notified at about 3:30 a.m. about an explosion in the area of 71 Pleasant St., according to a statement from State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey’s office. First responders arrived to see a massive fire engulfing the house in flames. Judith “Judy” Christensen, 79, died while her daughter was taken away with not life-threatening injuries.

Through the “rapidly deteriorating building damage from multiple explosions, first responders were unable to rescue Judy and she perished at the scene,” Thursday’s statement read.

“Judy, a lifelong resident of Berlin, will be forever remembered for her smile and the laughter she spread,” the statement read. “Our memories of her will never be forgotten and we will cherish the gratitude she had for our Public Safety Departments and the stories of random acts of kindness she spread throughout the community.”

It took firefighters about an hour and a half to put out the fire, Ostroskey’s office said. The Bolton, Clinton, Harvard, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Northborough, Shirley, Sterling and Stow fire departments helped.

In their statement, Berlin Fire/EMS Chief Michael McQuillen and Police Chief Eric Schartner also provided more details about the neighbors who intervened to rescue Christensen’s daughter from the burning home. Neighbors Brian and Dylan Clemmer called upon Berlin police officer Molly Plante to help them lift a porch roof off of a woman they heard calling for help. Then a second explosion brought heavy fire and a live, sparking electrical wire under the rescuers’ feet.

“Miraculously, they were able to move the debris and free the victim,” the statement read. “Officer Plante as well as neighbor Bobby Wheeler then pulled the victim out, and the group carried the victim over the power lines.”

Plante took the woman over her shoulder and carried her back to the police cruiser just as another explosion further engulfed the house in flames, which Plante said looked like “raining fire,” the statement said.

The woman’s injuries were described as serious, but MassLive previously reported these injuries as not life-threatening

Berlin Fire/EMS Chief Michael McQuillen and Police Chief Eric Schartner said they wished to recognize Plante, Wheeler and the Clemmers for their “heroic actions” in saving Christensen’s daughter.

“Without the actions of these individuals, there is no doubt in my mind that the outcome would not have been as positive for this trapped person,” McQuillen said in the statement.

The fire cause and origin is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshall Office and Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s Office, the statement concluded.

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