An elderly woman and her pet dog managed to escape from a burning home at 19 Barre Drive. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Update: An editing error caused the deletion of the first section of this breaking news post. The full article now appears below.
LUDLOW — A house fire reported at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday at 19 Barre Drive forced an elderly woman and her dog from the burning home, according to Ludlow Fire Capt. Jeff Lavoie.
The woman, who wasn't publicly identified, and her dog were uninjured, but the ranch-style home sustained "extensive damage," Lavoie said.
Officials determined that the blaze, which took about 20 minutes to extinguish, was an electrical fire that started in the cellar of the 1-story home.
Lavoie said the woman's smoke detector warned her about the smoke and flames. Prior to the alarm sounding, the woman was unaware of the fire, he said. "This is a perfect case of a smoke detector functioning properly," Lavoie said, adding that the device may have saved the woman's life.
Barre Drive is off West Avenue, just south of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
MAP of fire scene area: